The Erred Ones
by Squirrel-under-a-bus
Summary: Jak gets back to Haven after a year. Can he handle the changes, including new rules, the press and an outraged woman? And what happens when the old visionary has things to reveal and the impossible turns out to be possible once more?
1. Undressing & Recommending

_Sipulichu: "So, here it is."_

_Da: "What?"_

_Sipuli: "The story, the first chapter. Duh!"_

_Da: "Oh, that."_

_Sipuli: "And now I was whiz-kid enough to put a small prologue into it. Well, a prologue and a prologue… Just a little word from the writer."_

_Da: "Us."_

_maestro Kynsilaukka: "I would like to read some reviews, thank you. No matter did you like or not."_

_Lucius Hip: "HEHEHEE!"_

_maestro: "What is with the chipmunk again?"_

_Da: "He's just hysterical, like always."_

_Sipuli: "Lucius being hysterical? No way, honestly, never."_

_Da: "Isn't he the muse of hysteria? So, it wouldn't make sense if he…"_

_Sipuli: "Remember that I'm the muse of sarcasm, platinum!"_

_Da: "Oh, of course, oopsie-doopsie!"_

_maestro: "Now, should we tell them that we haven't written this in our national language?"_

_Da: "I guess so."_

_Sipuli: "Should we tell them that we all four are one person, Squirrel-under-a-bus?"_

_maestro: "I suppose they realise it anyway."_

_Lucius: "Yeah, whatever, has anyone got any almonds..?"_

* * *

1. **Undressing & Recommending**

The rain kept pouring down, as it had done for a week without stopping, except that short break in the afternoon two days ago. Streets weren't as crowded as usually; all the pedestrians were either drunken or then helplessly in love, finding the cold and grey monster monsoon rather romantic (and afterwards a good excuse to take the clothes off). But there was one who didn't fit: wrapped in an indigo cloak reaching from nose to ankles, only showing sapphire eyes under a heavy – and soaking wet – hood, this man cursed every single waterproof material in the word, and promised to never use "Pobsy's Clothing" again. Wondering why the fortune had decided to situate the body of water above the city just as he was coming to town, he was swearing without a break inside his garb. His foot splashed into a deep puddle, but as it wasn't the first time, his waterproof – and soaking wet – shoes didn't complain. His toes were wrinkled and itching of the moisture within the shoes, and the cloak felt heavier on his shoulders than the whole world had, but – notwithstanding he was a man of principle – he wasn't gonna drop the useless garment. It could end up useful someday. It was a good camouflage in the end, or it would be if someone had remembered to make sleeves into it. He tasted blood on his lips and promised himself to be more careful while shaving next time, and he certainly wasn't feeling any better because of two screaming voices in his head; the older one telling him he made a terrible mistake and should turn back, go home, fuck and make up. The younger one was shouting at the older one, telling what kind of a fool he was and that the one who carries us made a good choice, for once. 'The one who carried' didn't know was his decision good or bad. He already missed her, but in the end it was better this way. Was it?

* * *

"AAARGH!" he tumbled and hit his elbows to the paving. 

"See?" a dark voice said in his head in an insulting tone, "now pick up your bones, order a flight, and get the hell out of this dead town."

"It's not a dead town, it's mine… no, OUR home!"

"I live in your head, any place is fine", the dark voice continued, "yet I enjoyed the sunshine, I enjoyed the warmth, I enjoyed the soft summer breeze blowing from the dunes carrying silk smooth sand under it's silent wings. And she got good breast you know!"

"Dark!" the one in a puddle roared, "shut up!"

"I'd recommend you to hold to mind speech - in the end people tend to think that people talking to themselves are softheaded in a way or another", the younger voice said, "apropos of nothing, I'd recommend you to pick up your bones, too, before you get a gangrene into your toes. You might deal with eco, but you certainly do not deal well with heat, cold, sun and humidity."

"Shit…" the one with puckered toes uttered and rose up, not being helped by the cloak. Not so sure if this was a good idea…

"Believe me, it wasn't", the dark voice pointed out.

* * *

After pouring the h2o out of his boots, the stranger entered the saloon. Nobody paid attention, as everybody was either busy ordering more drinking or hollering and cheering for three girls dancing on three podia. Yep, dancing. Nothing so naughty. Except the undressing-part and so on, but in the end it was dancing. On caged podia. Spinning round a pole. Wearing very little. Oh well… The one wet from the rain instead of sweat fought his way to the counter – which wasn't very hard as everyone twitched away from the cold, drenched and strange creature. 

"Hi, Tess", he said taking off his hood.

A blonde and busty ottsel turned over and blinked her eyes. "Jak? What are you doing here?"

"Getting cozy", Jak said, "nice to see you."

"Nice to see you, too – want a beer after these?", Tess laughed and served three mugs of beer without giving them an eye, "what's happened to your hair?"

"Oh, it's just…" Jak scratched his occiput, "I just didn't dye it. And for the beer, no thanks."

Tess cracked in a laughter and shook her hair while making a vodka-cola. "Well, I'm real, and you must be sick. I'm ready to give you a mug for free, and you don't wan tit."

"I just don't feel like having a drink right now, believe me, this won't become a pattern", Jak laughed, "okay, where's Daxter, by the way?"

"There", Tess nodded to the podia.

The three girls had stopped the dancing and stood on the platforms. Daxter climbed on theone in the middleand began talking to a microphone. "Boy is it hot, I'm sweating – and I have a fur, so girls… Great job! Let's give them an enormous hollo!" The crowd shouted and the light one in Jak's head recommended him to protect his hearing while the dark one recommended him to go and squeeze some boobsie.

"Okay, you know what to do!" Daxter continued, "when I call out a girl, you call out as loud as you can! Is the queen tonight… Lisa!"

A blonde girl blew a kiss to the crowd and Light recommended earplugs.

"They like you and I must admit I do, too", Daxter laughed and Tess rolled her eyes, "but I also like this sweetie here. Shout for Mazzé now!"

People got loud over a coquetting girl with a black hair and bigger breasts than what was legal. Jak didn't really want to listen to what Dark was recommending to him this time.

"I think that was a teeny weeny bit louder than what Lisa got. Sorry, Lisa, that was a wonderful routine, but, not this time!"

The blonde girl curtsied and smiled, but her eyes screamed of how frustrated she was.

"And now, how loud can you get on Luda?"

The crowd got crazy and Jak covered his ears to Light's delight. A girl with a massive, bright orange afro shouted at the crowd urging it to scream even more.

"Okay then!" Daxter shouted over the chaos, "I think this is clear. Luda, we'll see you again next week, in the final! Now, c'mon, let's give a big woah for all the girls!"

"So this is a…" Jak turned back to Tess as crowd continued roaring.

"Only once a week", Tess explained, "tomorrow here's a fighting club, the day after that here's speed dating, then a romantic evening and then karaoke singing. On weekend's this is a normal bar, but we have a band as often as we can."

"JAK! Buddy!" a voice of an ottsel shrieked, and soon the owner of the voice (which Jak had heard maybe more often than he deserved but which he was so happy to hear after almost a full year) jumped on the counter, "Jak? Whatcha doin' here?"

"He's getting cozy", Tess explained before Jak had started.

"Ya like… Ya like getting back to Haven?"

"Me like yes", Jak laughed, "good to see you Dax."

"I love seeing myself, too", Daxter explained, "like, my fur is so smooth and healthy, and my body is so fit and perfect, and so on…"

The three laughed – yet Tess still didn't spill any beer from any of the four mugs she was holding.

"Rainy out there?" Daxter asked picking Jak's cloak, "what is this thing tryin' to be?"

"A waterproof piece of clothe", Jak replied and Tess giggled again.

"You can take it off in the upstairs", she explained, "this door here, past the deepfreezes and…"

"I know Tess, thanks", Jak smiled, "or has Daxter revamped this place again?"

"Actually yes, we got a new corridor which leads out from the upstairs, so you don't have to get in from here. Also, there's a new bathroom."

"Bathroom?" Jak asked, "where does it need that?"

"Well, an apartment needs a toilet, and a shower is preferred", Daxter explained, "we put in on rent, you see. Now I'll gotta go to sign with Luda, see ya, partner, welcome back!" the orange furball touched his hand and then disappeared into the crowd. Jak ducked under the counter and went from the door, suddenly stopping.

"Well… Tess?"

"What?" the ottsel didn't turn to look at him, instead mixed together different liquids, "the code of the armour door is the same, still. I really should change it as it's more of a public secret than a secret secret."

"Ehm… Okay, but… If it's on rent, does somebody live there?"

"Torn."

"Torn?" Jak twitched in surprise and let the door shut. He stared at it, before slowly turning and walking past the freezers.

* * *

"A beautiful boy came to LioDapah, riding on a turquoise yakow, there was a girl he always thought, would let him get some…" 

Jak knew the song. It was a traditional song and it got very rude actually, telling what the pretty boy's turquoise yakow made for the girl. Jak chuckled and shook his head slightly, before stepping in front of an open door: "Knock knock", he said.

Torn uttered a surprised squeak and dropped his pencil, "Jak!" he roared and bounced up.

"Torn", Jak had secretly wished that his old boss would be at least a little delighted of seeing him again, just for the sake of old times, but Torn's icy blue eyes were just empty, his face reflecting inner anger.

"What are you doing here?" Torn asked trying to get a light tone into his voice and forcing his cheek muscles into a fake smile, "come in."

"Trying to find a coat rack", the tension from Torn's direction affected him, and he found himself as the normal moody and angst-ful himself.

"And why's that."

"Because I want this wet cloak off from me."

"And you want to hang it up in a closet, which is by the way around the corner. Or actually behind that wall behind you, but the door is… round the corner", Torn was now standing next to his table.

"Thanks", Jak felt unsure. Should he go and find the door, but Torn's sentence had started out like a question and also departing would either look anxious and stupid or then include turning back to Torn, and Jak felt almost sure that that would include some using of a knife. So, he switched his weight on his legs, slightly tiptoeing and looking nervous.

"You drip water on my carpet."

"Oh, sorry, but like…"

"You should really hang it up in the bathroom. You know, there's an outlet."

"Oh well, okay…" Jak rouse his other leg when Torn interrupted.

"And you think that I would let you do that?" instead Torn started walking and ended up between Jak and the door, which made the younger faery even more nervous.

"Well, I- Well… You just said…"

"You think I'd let you walk back into my life again", Torn sounded both bitter and amused, which was a strange combination, "no, the answer is no!"

"But I-i…" Suddenly Torn pulled a small gun from his belt and pointed straight into Jak. Jak had never learned to use or like them, they weren't effective enough, but he knew that a bullet from it would surely kill him if hit in right places, "Torn?"

"No", Torn hissed from between his teeth, "you think our lives would meet again in any circumstances? There's one too many in this room, and it's not me", he said, making Jak back against the table, almost falling on it backwards.

"T-t-t-torn…"

"No!" Torn hollered in a frustrated tone, "I had been drawing that almost for an hour, and now you go and drip water on it."

Jak looked behind him and saw a very talented picture of a Metal Head. Unfortunately, it was made by black lead, which started to blur by the water drops. "I-i'm very sorry, if I just could do something…"

"RUN!" Light screamed, "duck, kick, hit and run, go go go go!"

"Release me, release me!" Dark roared, "I will tear that bustard in pieces!"

"Run!"

"Release!"

"Run!"

Jak didn't want to admit it, but he was panicking, his eyes searching for an exit. A bathroom door? No, he'd shot me there. Then he started looking at the barrel, before his eyes wandered into Torn's ones.

Torn enjoyed the situation. For the first time, he had completely surprised the younger faery – and even better than that, Jak was panicking! He looked so stupid all wet in front of his table, looking like a guinea pig unready to get a vaccine. Then when Jak looked into his eyes, Torn couldn't held back anymore; he burst into a laughter.

Jak dropped his jaw and probably sprained his eyelids, as Torn was laughing the hell out of himself. That wasn't an evil laughter, that wasn't a psychopathically satisfied laughter. Torn threw the gun to the corridor, and actually dried a tear from his eye.

"Eee. Orhn?" Jak mumbled forgetting to return his jaw back in its place.

Torn cracked again, leaning against the frame. "You shoulda seen yourself, and should see now."

Jak regained the control over his facial muscles: "Torn? What… What's going on?"

"What's happened to your hair?"

"There wasn't –" Jak scratched the back of his head, but stopped as he realised he did it always somebody asked him about his hair colour, "hey, what was that thing?"

"A welcome joke", Torn smiled, "perhaps not the most enjoyable for you, but I enjoyed it a lot."

"A joke?"

"Emotional ventilation", Torn explained, "I guess I used at least half of my – no Mar-damn, at least 90 percent – of my negative energy towards you, so now I can welcome you truly."

Jak was just blinking.

"So, what's with your hair?"

"There wasn't anyone capable of dyeing it in Spargus."

"It's nice though. At least it doesn't make me think that you're a dumb platinum."

"I guess that was a compliment."

"You should be flattered", Torn suddenly stopped leaning and opened his arms, "now, c'mon, give an ol' boss a reunion hug."

"Hug you? …But I'm wet."

"No excuses!" Torn snapped and they hugged, Jak finding it very odd, yet nice. In the end, Torn never was that a friend of his, although he would have liked him to be. "Good to have you back, here, YET…" Torn disengaged himself, "yet not everyone will be as merciful as I am."

"Whatcha mean?"

"Well, I'm not furious about you-and-Ashelin –thing –"

"We broke up", Jak spat it out, surprised by himself.

"You did WHAT!" Dark roared, "NO NO NO, you just went to visit in Haven, then you'll go back and you two…"

"Shut up!" Jak roared back, startling Torn, "no, sorry, it wasn't for you", Jak tapped his head, "it was for someone who doesn't quite agree."

"Light, Dark or both?"

"Dark."

"Guessed that, so… You broke up. Why?"

"We… We talked about things and we realised we didn't give our whole hearts into this and we decided… We should break up when we still are friends."

"And she's in Spargus?"

"I needed a break of it, yet she wanted to stay there. Maybe it's because she isn't pleased by the outcome of the plebiscite."

"She didn´t want Alorah to win."

"How does she get along? Or is she already dethroned?"

"Jak!"

"Well, I wouldn't be that surprised if that happened in Haven."

"Okay, I admit, me neither – hey, let's take off that wet shit, do you have your luggage here?"

"I brought nothing with me, except a peace maker", Jak said and struggled to be freed from the cloak, "ehm… This does disturb my pride a lot actually, but could you help?"

"Aww", Torn said with a straight face, "lil' Jaky doesn't know how to undress himself."

"Shut up, and this one's for you."

"Right, I'll help you", Torn laughed, "anyway, Alorah's doing fine. She has created a thing called File, and every shop, store, saloon and etc must be in File, or otherwise it's considered illegal."

"And what does File do?" Jak asked as he got his head out of the cloak, "a horrible clothe! I'll burn it – or give to Samos as a birthday gift." He didn't notice Torn's face darkening.

"File does nothing, but it keeps record of everything. The popularity of Alorah is about 70 percent or something. Also, lots of things need to be petitioned – like Daxter's striptease nights, and Tess's speed-dating. All new buildings must be given a permission, too, and believe this or not, but Alorah has created a Construction Committee, which has set rules for each house, about like the sewage or groundwork et cetera."

"She's created a committee!"

"Lots of those", Torn replied while hanging up Jak's cloak in the bathroom, "people like committees, and not without a reason – never have as many citizens worked as a part of the 'government'"

"Why did you pronounce government like that?"

"Because Alorah's government is pure democracy. Once in three years, people vote for other people who want to become a part of government. There are a hundred of them, plus Alorah who is the head and holds the quorum. At least fifty percent of every committee must be from the government, and usually the rest is just normal everyday pedestrians. You saw Luda, right?"

"The stripper?"

"She's in Sexual Committee, which shook the city five months ago by legalizing homosexuality, and illegalizing sex between a grown-up and a child. The age limit is 14 years."

"She's in government?"

"Not, but in the Committee. But I bet if she keeps on the good work and the naughty work she does, she'll end up in government in next election."

"Just… How long has here been this new... government?"

"A month after you and Ashelin left. It was the first big thing that Alorah did."

"She must be crazy… You support him?"

"Of course", Torn smiled, "for once in my life time I have a shower which actually serves hot water, thanks for the Waterway Committee. What about you? You never really said which side you were on, Alorah or Hussel?"

"Well… I always supported Alorah, but you know, when Ashelin was so fiercely against her…"

"Yep, I understand", Torn said, "hmm… Taking off this cloak didn't help that much as you're wet as a water yakow. I'll bring some of my clothes so you can change them within closed doors. I guess you don't want my drawers, right?"

"Uhmm… Actually… Never thought about that", Jak smirked, "I guess… Hmm… Okay, I guess I'd want. My ones are completely wet and I think I shouldn't go commando in your pants."

"Okay, a good point", Torn laughed, "you've grown, you're almost as tall as I am."

"Wow!" Jak hollered, "I didn't even notice. Ha ha, you're so small, I'm so tall…"

"Almost as tall as I am", Torn repeated, "okay, clothes."

"Clothes."

* * *

_Sipuli: "That's it!"_

_Lucius: "To be continued."_

_maestro: "Ommm ommm…"_

_Sipuli: "He just finds meditating necessary at a moment like this?"_

_Da: "I guess yes."_

_Lucius: "Well, at least he doesn't mutter simsalabims and wave his stupid magic wand. He's much better as a coma patient." wham "Ouch!"_

_Sipuli: "What did you say about the magic wand?"_

_Lucius: "Hey, it can't float in air –" wham_

_maestro: "First of all, ommm, it is a staff, not a wand, ommm…"_

_Lucius: "Take it off from me! No, no, no! Ouch! Aah! Eek! Take it off!..."_

_Da: "Is it that fair to hit small animals?"_

_maestro: "You rather like me hit you?"_

_Da: "Erm… Go staff, catch him, woopeeh!"_

_Sipuli: "Wise talk, platinum."_

_Da: "Thanks, vege. After all, running Lucius is kind of cute."_

_Lucius: "Get it off! Aaah! Call it back! Maestro, please! No no no! Eeek!…"_


	2. Tester & Daxess

I do not own the characters, most of them are (c) Naughty Dog, and others like Uzla, Yelena and 5S are completely fictional (like something wouldn´t be here...)

Thanks for the reviews; Suta-Alpha Wolf, Afeenaninganing and jaklover123! Means a lot for me!

And to jaklover123:

Sorry, I should have explained it better. Since I saw Jak for the first time, I always thought that he was a fake blonde. So, "now" he has a completely green hair. But don´t worry, he´ll blonde it! (grin) I just can´t let Jak stay as un-blonde, can´t I?

* * *

Da: "They ruined my name!"

Sipuli: "Not again…"

Da: "How dare they? They ruined my name!"

maestro: "What is it?"

Sipuli: "Somehow one third of Da!´s name vanished –"

Da: "THEY RUINED MY NAME!"

maestro: "Oh, a big thing. Ommm –"

Da: "How dare you do that ommm ommm stuff at a moment like this! I want a revenge! The vengeance of Da exclamation point will be horrible!"

Sipuli: "What are you gonna do? Stick a blow dryer into their asses, eh?"

Da: "Yes, and much more. I will… I will… I will give them a 70's rock'n'roll –haircut! Yeah!"

Sipuli: "Wooh. That will surely knock their knees."

Da: "Aha."

maestro: "He never learns…"

Lucius: "WEEEEEEEEHEHEHEEEEEE!"

maestro: "Aaaaak!"

Sipuli: "Woaaaaah!"

Da: "Eeeeek!"

maestro: "Lucius Hip, what the hell do you think you are doing?"

Lucius: " I took a dive from the super conscious!"

maestro: "You were in superconscious!"

Sipuli: "Oh no… Let's have a look to the story, quick!"

Da: "Oh no part two! It's already online!"

maestro: "What! No! Lucius Hip, you shall pay for this!"

Lucius: "No, not the wand!"

a scene deleted due to the violent scenes

* * *

2. **Tester & Daxess**

"Slept well, Jaky-boy?" Daxter shouted, "wow, Tattooed Wonder's clothes fit you. You've grown!"

"Yeah, I slept well", Jak lied while entering a spotlessly clean room you could hardly imagine to become a sinful, neonlit booze paradise after eight o'clock. He hadn't slept at all, listening to "Tattooed Wonder's" sleeping all the night on the floor, being too afraid to fall asleep just if the snoring faery on the other side of the room had just faked his reunion happiness ("Am I the only one noticing someone getting a bit paranoid?" Light asked innocently). "I think I'm actually wider than he, I've to keep this jacket open. And yes, I've grown."

"Yey, means a higher view for me!" Daxter leaped onto his shoulder, "hey, where's my parade chair?"

"What?"

"Your shoulder armour."

"Upstairs."

"Now get it down so I can ride you! I've missed it", Daxter jested, "oh fine then, good to have you back." Daxter suddenly closed Jak's head into a hug.

"Dax?" Jak was touched. Daxter hugged him? Torn had hugged him! He clumsily rose his hand and stroke Daxter, "good to see you, too, buddy."

"And now, I shall go searching a band for the weekend. A moment without rain must be used", Daxter said hopping onto the counter, "I'd ask you to come, but Sig's flyer only fits two."

"How's Sig?" Jak asked, "and bet you could ride my shoulder instead of having a whole seat."

"That seat is for… Well", Daxter smirked, "you remember Rayn?"

"Krew's daughter?"

"Yes. She and Sig met in the Armament Committee –"

"They're in a Committee!"

"Yeah, in the Armament Committee. They made some new laws of having guns and so on, like I think ya should register your peace maker."

"Register my peace maker?"

"Yes. I could take it with me and Sig would put it in the papers. Whatcha say?"

"Well… Sorry, Daxter, I'd rather give it straight to Sig. I remember what happened last time –"

"I was blotto! Don't judge me for that!" Daxter grumbled, "OK, where was I? Oh, in the Committee: Sig and Rayn were both chosen there, they aren't in the Government."

"And?"

"They fell in love! Crash! Boom! Bandicoot!"

"When?"

"Well, Sig told me that during the first day."

"No no no, how long ago?"

"About eight months ago or somethin'", Daxter said and disappeared behind the counter only to return with some papers, "let's see… Tess-honey?"

"Darling?" a voice was followed with a horrible screech of metal against ice.

"Have we had Thunderbolt already? I get a feeling we have, but it ain't –"

"The one with that horrible bitch as a singer?"

"The one with double-D."

"Yep."

"Okay, thanks, honey. What are you doing by the way?"

"Digging bottles of Praxis out of nuclear winter. I can't deice the box six, the system's broken."

"You need me there?"

"I'll survive, but thanks for asking!" Tess chirped with a screech, "be careful out there, Daxybaxy!"

"Daxybaxy?" Jak whispered with a smirk on his face.

"Rhymes well with sexy", Daxter snapped but looked very embarrassed.

Suddenly a familiar voice roared from the speakerboxes: "Chilipepper!"

"I'll get my peace maker", Jak said in an enthusiastic tone.

"Fine", Daxter said watching his friend jumping over the counter and rushing for the locked door.

"Chilipepper?"

"Sig, wait a second", the ottsel murmured even though the voice weren't going out.

"Got no whole day, Rayn's got a manicure waitin'."

"And Sig's got a pedicure!"

"Honey, could we keep dat part a little bit less loud, right? It's like, I have an image…"

"Jak? Ya coming?" Daxter laughed.

"Yeah!" Jak hollered, awakening a frustrated roar from the room.

"I'm a lodger!" Torn shouted, "I didn't pay for a morning show!"

"You've already slept eleven hours, you slacker!" Tess shrieked and hit her crowbar against the ice and caused a horrible skreak which made Torn roar again, "get up!"

"It's always like this", Daxter said still laughing, but this time with a riant shine in her eyes, but Jak didn't feel joyful inside. He was happy indeed for his best friend, and that's why he forced out some chuckling, but deep inside he felt like left outside utterly alone.

"You are not alone", a comforting voice said in his head.

"Yeah, you've got us!" a malicious one continued, "I've said this before, get back to Spargus –"

"Cheeeleeepeppaaarrr!" a speakerbox roared.

"I'm coming", Daxter moaned over, opened the door of Naughty Ottsel and made a drama-like gesture, "Sig, here I am."

"Wasn't dat worth waitin'", Sig snapped while smirking, "wha'took ya so long?"

"He", Daxter kicked the another door open, "and his peace maker."

"Well hello hello, who do we have here? A rookie cherry number one."

"Hi, Sig!" Jak smiled, "and Rayn, nice to see you again."

"It's my pleasure", Rayn said.

"So ya came back, cherry, or just visiting?"

"Guess I came back and Daxter told me I should register my gun."

"Oh yes, all the DG guns must be registered", Rayn explained, "DG like damage. Peace makers, scatter guns…"

"She sayin' ev'rything you eva liked", Sig interrupted, "so chilipepper, better dig out ya guns."

"I've only got this with me", Jak said, "do you wanna take it?"

"Surely we can, but doncha expect it to come back to you tomorrow, we've got today other plans", Sig and Rayn changed an affectioned look and snogged, "this bunny's got her wires all electrified after she's got new claws."

"No, it's not my nails, it's your feet", Rayn said seductively and Sig gave him an angry look.

"'Kay, so here it is", Jak gave the gun for Sig while trying to keep his pokerface. Daxter jumped into the flyer and climbed sitting on Sig's shoulder.

"I'll be back, Jak-boy. See ya!"

* * *

"You just feel it's necessarily important to jump, bounce, scream and shout?" Torn growled from behind the counter where he was sitting on a stool, "it's only midday!"

"The door, honey", Tess hollered and climbed onto the counter, "Ottsel's closed now."

"Sorry", Jak turned back and locked the shielded door.

"We are very cautious", Tess explained while having an ottsell-sized screwdriver, "we've achieved so much – and got many enemies. At least five saloons have gone bankrupt as we stole the customers."

"So you are the most popular saloon in Haven?"

"I proudly attest that rumour to be true", Tess giggled and then threw a little paper umbrella at Torn's ear, "Sleeping Beauty, no snoring on my counter, especially with nipples exposed."

"Tess", Torn muttered and turned his forehead to another cubitus, "the new boy causes me a sleep disturbance."

"Whatever son of a gun, get up! Up!"

They kept going with this fake fight for moments and Jak tried his best not to stare at Torn's nude upper body. Suddenly Tess stopped torturing Torn's ear with an ice cube and screamed, "Jak!"

"What?" startled faery boy squeaked.

"You're wearing Torn's clothes."

"Yes, he is", Torn murmured and used the opportunity to close his eyes.

"Why? Didn't you bring any other clothes than that cloak?"

"Well, I wore clothes underneath that, but…"

"They were drenched", Tess finished, "of course. So…"

"…?"

"We'll go shopping!" she smiled.

"What?" both men in the room rouse their heads and looked at Tess like she´d be a six-headed, dark green and slobbering monster demon with a five feet long thorny dildo growing from her belly button.

"Yeah", Tess said, "Jak needs clothes, Torn needs fresh air and I need my daily shopping quota! And also… Did you tell him about Tester, Torn?"

"Tester? I didn't."

"Great!" Tess giggled, "Jak, you'll drive my Hell Cat, Torn, you'll get dressed up."

"No way."

"You have a Hell Cat!"

"Yes way, yes we do."

"Aarh!"

"Wow! How?"

"Quickly! It was in sale."

Torn rose up and trudged pass the freezers, giving Jak a sight to his gray boxer briefs before slamming the armour door shut, mumbling something about "good to have you back... This new boy causes me a headache…"

"He'll come!" Tess yelled smiling, "so, let's get to our garage."

"You've got a garage!"

"Of course. Every happy house needs a garage."

"I didn't know Naughty Ottsel would have –"

"It's not Ottsel's!" Tess shook her head, "man you are out of time. Daxter and I have built a house behind Ottsel. It will be our home – and also Torn's, Jinx's, Onin's and Keira's home. If you want, there's a room for you, too."

"You have a house!" Jak was shocked.

"It's not ready yet, we'll let you other people in when it's absolutely ready. Still needs some tiles and parquetry, and also the glass canopies are still on their way."

"GLASS CANOPY?"

"In plural", Tess said, "Daxter has a very good sense of interior design, you know? He made the plans while Torn drew them. It all came down into my light touch of a woman, and then, we hired a company to build it."

"How long has it been built?"

"It's been built since my birthday."

Jak didn't ask when it was. He had never been good with days, but now he had forgotten all birthdays and other days completely.

"You two have money to thrash?" Jak said in disbelief. Daxter living large? He remembered how the orphan-not-yet-an-ottsel Daxter had promised him, himself and Keira to build a castle someday. Needless to say, Keira and he had just laughed at him.

"Well, in the end Ottsel_ is _the most popular saloon in the town."

"You've made this much money in a year! With… _this_ place!"

"No, not at all", Tess laughed, "first of all we had Krew's money –"

"Daxter said it was all gone!"

"He lied", Tess smirked, "believe me, you'll get an answer why. So, we had Krew's stuff, then Ottsel did great in our possession, and then we have launched some new stuff. We just haven't told you, 'cause we wanted to build that house. It was our common dream. If we had told you how wealthy we were, we had been forced to buy you all expensive gifts, give you loans and so on… No we have the house, so we can ask you all to live within its walls and then give you loans and gifts and so on."

"Yeah", Torn smirked and locked the armour door, now wearing a jacket just like the one he wore for years (and which Tess had thrown to garbage because of the smell) but this one was black – of course companied with the red scarf. Jak felt himself a bit naked with his (or Torn's) jacket open and nothing underneath it. "It's three storeys, higher than Ottsel, and has a garden in the highest floor. This is a secret but…" Torn leaned towards Jak's ear, "moreover the garage and cellar, the basement also includes a small jail."

"A jail?"

"Shh!" Tess hissed and smirked, "that's not legal, you know, but we put it there only for our personal security. And also, Daxter loves jails, you know, he likes the chains and I like the bars –"

"Over sharing!" Torn interrupted, "just because I begin to live with two furballs, doesn't mean I want to know what these two do to satisfy themselves."

"I've heard you satisfy yourselves far too many times!" Tess yelled, "you're such a loud rain cloud!"

"Tess! I don't want you telling me about my sexual behaviours –"

"Or the lack of them! What's your problem? Sex is free and fun, why can't you talk –"

"Sex is private and personal!"

"Chastity chestnut!"

"Nympho!"

"An honest one!"

"Can't disagree!"

"Eeh", Jak tried to interrupt, "how bout…"

"Let's go!" Tess screamed, "to the garage!"

* * *

"So, choose the ones you want!" Tess said.

In front of them was a wall full of clothes. Quite phunky and stylish clothes. Jak could have thought of wearing them, but the price tags changed his mind.

"Tess!" he groaned, "I have no money for this!"

"You think you should tell him?" Torn asked Tess.

"Actually no", Tess said, "I'll go to talk to Yelena. She had found an interesting band for Ottsel. Called Syndicate of Superior Stingers with Six feet long Saberteeth, also known as 5S. A band with a name like that can not be wasted. So, you explain him", Tess disappeared behind the clothe racks.

"So…?" Jak looked at Torn who was sitting in a public arm chair.

"Those are Testers."

"What? These clothes?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"Think of the name."

"And?"

"Tester."

"And?"

"Blonde."

"What the hell are you waiting me to get, dreadlock!"

"Tes – ter. Like Tess and Daxter."

"A-and?..." Jak stared at the clothes, "this surely can't be… It can't, right?"

"Can."

"You're not the only one who isn't that pleased of this shopping trip, so stop trying to be pre-Haven-me."

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

"What have these clothes got to do with Daxter?"

"He designed them. Actually Tess designed them, but Daxter made some details and also he almost entirely designed the underwear for women. They are pretty raunchy…"

"Daxter builds a house? Daxter designs women's underwear?"

"Oh, wait til you get the third one to that list."

"What's that?"

"Well, let's just say that it might interest you more than these clothes."

"What is it?"

"Not gonna tell you. Tess can do that by herself."

"Please! Now tell me!"

"It's called Daxess All Areas. That's all I'll tell you. Now, anything else about Tester?"

"Ehm… How…?"

"They were manufactured in Michoz. They were modelled on me, Jinx, Sig, Keira and Rayn. They're the cool new shit in the town, or whatever it's called."

"…"

"Speechless?"

"…"

"Fine."

"…"

"Now if you're devolving into the mute one Keira and Daxter talk about…"

"I wasn't mute", Jak defended, "I just didn't mind of talking that much."

"We won't get out before you've got enough of clothes to satisfy Tess. So, better make your pick."

"Have I told you already that I'm a horrible shopper?"

"It shows."

"…"

"You find something interesting?"

"…"

"Mute."

"…"

"Okay", Torn rose up and came next to him, "what do you like?"

"I don't know", Jak confessed, "I am a horrible shopper."

"Mar with a blaster, just try something. Grab a garment, go to fitting booth, take a look in a mirror and say 'yes' or 'no'. Understood?"

Jak gave him a slightly frightened look.

"Mar on a roto, a guy has saved the world thrice, and has defied the great armies of Metal Heads and Dark Makers, and then… Look! He's afraid of clothe shopping!"

"Torn", Jak moaned, "this is just new to me. I've never shopped for myself. Clothes."

"Fine", Torn took a few steps before, "your size was?"

"I dunno."

"Same as mine except for a wider chest and shoulders", Torn muttered measuring Jak with his gaze, making him feel naked again, "what colour do you wish to wear?"

"It's all same to me."

"Green? Blue? Red? Black? White? Beige?"

"Blue, maybe", Jak said trying to think what 'beige' meant.

"Okay fine. Take this… And this… And this… No, gave it back, was the wrong size", Torn threw him clothes, "take this... Take this… Take this and this and this and those. And now – this, too. And now, the fitting booth."

"…"

"There, hint hint."

"I have no money to this!"

"You're a friend of furballs, right?"

"I s'pose."

"Ever heard of price cut?"

"But still, I didn't take lots of cash –"

"Get in the booth, soldier!"

* * *

"So, what have you found?" Tess chirped, "having good time, boys?"

"Yes", Torn smirked, "honestly, he's not."

"I don't like this", Jak groaned, "look at it!" he pulled the curtain open wearing a crimsom shirt with long sleeves with stylish quilting and cutting.

"Oh, you look fab in that!" Tess continued chirping, "the price is only 23 of what it is really, thanks to me."

"It's red."

"It's fab, trust me."

"I don't wanna wear anything fab…"

"It suits like Metal a Head!"

"But it's red."

"What's the problem? Your hair is green and that's the complementary colour of red so they both will look bolder!"

"I'm a murder, I don't wanna shine out, and I want to be blonde again –"

"Well, then I'll get Uzla book you into Salon Giselleyh", Tess said, "that's one of the nicest salons in the city, not far from here. It will probably took a few days, but I'm sure they'll find time to dye you."

"Tess…"

"Just take it", Torn snapped, "it's great on you."

"Really?"

"Whatever, but it takes us one step closer to the street door."

Torn wasn't an experienced clothe shopper, and it showed. Most of his random picks didn't suit Jak too well, but in the end (after Tess had chosen a couple of clothes ("A couple?" Torn moaned, "I had to carry them and they weighed for a ton!")) the female ottsel was happy with Jak's new wardrobe.

"You guys get these into the Hell Cat while I pay ém" she chirped and took Jak's wallet from Torn's jacket's inside breast pocket – making the faery feel naked again. After all, Jak wasn't an exhibitionist enough to show his nipples for all the folks.

"Sure", Torn growled, "slaver."

"I heard that!"

"Oops", Torn rolled his eyes, "let's go clotheboy!"

"This wasn't my idea!" Jak apologised, "trust me, I didn't exactly like it."

"I know, don't take any stress about it", Torn said and threw the paper bags into the Hell Cat.

"Well, you sounded like it was my fault", Jak followed him and then climbed into the vehicle, "you have bad habit to make people feel bad."

"Thanks", Torn suddenly sounded harsh and bitter, although Jak had only meant it to be a joke, "that really sounded good to me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean –"

"Whatever", Torn started the Cat, "where's the blonde shopping bitch again?"

"The shopping bitch is here", Tess screamed and jumped in, "and it's Miss Bitch to you. Now, get us to the Daxess, driver."

"Wherever you wish to, honey", Torn grumbled from between his teeth.

* * *

"This is Daxess!" Tess exclaimed, leaving Jak shocked.

"Porn?"

"Tits and dicks. Let's get in!"

"No pun intended", Torn said.

"You do porn?"

"No we don't. Daxter just… Well… Torn, could you open the door?"

"Yes, ma'am", Torn moaned, "not just a lodgie, a slave, too."

"Hi Eurnie!" Tess yelled at a man who was reordering a shelf full of small plastic boxes, "so, Jak, Daxter realised that when voice can be recorded on a disc, why couldn't picture be?"

"A picture disc?"

"A disc for moving pictures! _Moving_!" Tess exclaimed joyfully, "and, as it was his idea and he took out patent for it, he gets paid for every disc sold."

"Where can these… moving pictures… be shown?"

"I bet you'd like to know that", Torn smirked. His mood had got better after they had got out of the morbid atmosphere of the rag boutique and his bad mood surprise in the Hell Cat had vanished like a lurker into a pond of dark eco.

Tess giggled, "Torn has a collection of these on his own, believe me. They can be shown on a high-resolution holoscreen, which by now is a bit rare, which limits the marketing, but the price of the screens gets lower by a day and people have more and more of them."

"Could you record something else than porn on these discs?" Jak said and couldn't help but stare at the cover picture of one box.

"That's Daxter's fave", Torn whispered into his ear, "but don't tell Tess."

"Well, in theory, but who would like to watch that?" Tess explained, "discs are great for messages and porn. That is that."

"Fine", Jak muttered and stared at another beauty in another sleazy pose.

"We've got that one, too", Torn hissed and Jak couldn't help but to smile.

"Daxter doesn't do these –"

"Because Tess won't let him", Torn whispered.

"- but he gets paid every time another movie comes out."

"So", Torn made a summary, "Tester and Daxess have taken Haven like a storm and they're the poo."

"The poo?" Jak blinked his eyes.

"The shit."

"What is this excrement-thing?"

"Honestly, I don't know", Torn rolled his eyes, "that's just what's said and Daxter has got me infected of it."

* * *

maestro: "Hmmm…"

Da: "I quite liked it."

maestro: "Liked it! Well, not a miracle. When did you push the nipples and boxers into it? Now everyone thinks it is a slash!"

Da: "Why can't it?"

Sipuli: "Because we three win you, platinum!"

Da: "Phobes!"

Sipuli: "Oh looks like Lucius has stopped from bouncing from the walls! What's that thing?"

Lucius: "A bruise."

Sipuli: "No, not that. That!"

Lucius: "A broken rib?"

Sipuli: "No, the one you're hanging by."

Lucius: "A bungee chord."

maestro: "Lucius."

Lucius: "Yes, mister one-with-a-DG-weapon?"

Da: "It's not a DG, it's a magic staff - isn't it?"

maestro: "Who had have you a permission to go and turn the chapter two into a campy fiasco?"

Lucius: "If it eases your pain, I thought about you while writing the chastity chestnut –part!"

Da: "Here we go again… Sorry folks, these two always fight… Bye!"

Lucius: "No, get it off from me! NOOOOObangOOOOObangOOOO…"

Sipuli: "And he banged at the walls ever after. Bwahhahhahhahhaa!"


	3. From The Evening & 'Til The Morning

_Characters are products of Naughty Dog. _

_Afeenaninganing, I hope the fainting didn't cause you physical or psychical harm! _

_Jaklover123, I hope you've got rid of the bad images! _

_Thanks for the reviews! Means a lot for me (I seem to refrain myself…)_

* * *

_Da: "It's shorter than the previous one." _

_Lucius: "Isn't is just great? You have more time for other things." _

_Da: "Hmm… Yeah, like for hair straighteners." _

_Lucius: "Oh, you're going straight from some points." _

_Da: "I admit." _

_Sipuli: "Very funny. Not." _

_maestro: "Be quiet, the story is soon online!" _

* * *

3. **From The Evening & 'Til The Morning**

It was 2 o'clock.

The most depressing time of the night. Too many hours from the evening. Too many hours 'til the morning.

He didn't know what time it was. There was no clock nor a window in Torn's bathroom, but he surely _felt _like 2 o'clock.

Too many hours of staying awake. Too many hours 'til you should and could fake that you slept well.

Too many hours of listening to Light and Dark.

Too many hours of thinking.

Torn was breathing heavily. Jak was shuddering under a shower. He wished to turn it on, and let the boiling hot water drops wash away his insecurity and fear.

"You'd just burn your skin", Light cut in.

The rain banged at the window pane.

It had started to rain in the afternoon. They reached the Naughty Ottsel by the skin of their teeth, before the mist-like rainfall turned into a killer torrent. Daxter had arrived a bit later, almost entirely dry thanks to Rayn's giant umbrella.

The Haven was rebuilding and reinventing itself faster than Jak had ever thought. New buildings looked nice. New shops were found everywhere, and the Bazaar was flourishing. No-one had touched the water slums, though.

"It's because of the History and Nostalgia Committee", Torn had said and rolled his eyes, "the slums can be redecorated and revamped from the inside, but the facades must be left as they are."

They had talked about Haven, politics and people. Onin and Pecker (the latter one didn't quite qualify into the people caste…) were at the Precursor Temple, escorted by Jinx. Jak told Torn about Spargus, how he had wanted to have a referendum there, but how Ashelin, disappointed by Alorah, had contradicted.

Jak knew he was the heir of the both cities, and because of that, all the surroundings, too. But Jak didn't want to be the one holding the sceptre.

People talked about it in noble and fine words; how Mar knew the citizens deserved a chance to lead their cities, how the autarchy was _old-fashioned_ and how he didn't consider himself stable enough to rule the beautiful cities full of beautiful persons.

The truth was that he was avoiding responsibility.

…And he felt guilty for it.

"You should", Light snapped, "you are born to be the heir who connects the cities. And what are you doing? You've chosen a new leader in Haven, and want to choose a new leader in Spargus. They are becoming more and more separated."

"And who exactly cares?" Dark snapped at the angel.

"You care about nothing which hasn't got glandular organs or a reason to be killed."

"And what's exactly wrong with that?"

"About everything."

"Be quiet, please", Jak whispered, his voice barely loud enough to be heard.

"You know that's not gonna help you", Dark laughed, "you think we'd be quiet for you?"

Jak knew they wouldn't. Light used to be silent and he hadn't cared of having him in his head, but like out of sudden the angelic creature had started being about as bad as Dark. Light didn't talk trash, like his acheronian fellow, but Jak didn't value his recommendations and dry humour as high as the silence.

Silence. Simple silence.

"Dream on, greenyweeny", Dark insulted.

"I surmise", Light began, "that without us in your head, you would feel even more lonely than you do now."

Us. Light had started talking about them as us. Not just me and Dark. Now it was us and he-who-carried-us. Jak found that frightening.

But there was one thing that didn't just fright him. It froze him, it made him sweat like a Krimzon Guard on a sunny day. It made his knees soften and his temples sharpen.

It was Keira.

Keira and his dad.

Keira and his dad were a tidal wave of fear washing over his sinful green-blonde head.

"It won't be that bad", Light said, "the pain will end after a time being."

"You know something", Jak whispered. They had gone through this hours before, too. "Why don't you tell me?"

"I'm not a news service nor a press agency", Light snapped, "I'm not in your head to tell you what has happened, if you don't care enough to find out."

"Or don't _dare_ enough", Dark added mischievously.

It wasn't _Keira_ or _Samos_ that rose Jak's hair up. It wasn't them as persons. In the end it was_ Jak_ who scared himself. How would _they_ thing about _him_ nowadays? Hadn't he been just like a boy who thanks for the care and love, thanks for feeding, thanks for money, and now, bye, let's not see again. What had he done to compensate the fact, that Samos had given up his youth to nurse thee young heir?

"Don't feel guilty", Dark said, "honestly, Keira's got nothing compared to Ashelin."

"Shut up."

"Ashelin's deadly, fatally sexy, beautiful, woah, she's a woman! Think about the paring: the heir and the ex-ruler's daughter!" Dark preached, "Keira then… Well, she's a mechanic. She's a poor bitter bitch –"

"Fuck you", Jak whispered his head on his knees, "fucking fucking fuck you."

"Beautiful", Light said dryly, "your vocabulary amazes me once again. You really should read -"

"Literature", Jak thought. It wasn't the first time Light had brought the case up.

"Yes, literature!"

"And porn mags!"

"Literature", Light repeated and pushed Dark aside, "literature!"

"I might be mute, but I'm not a yakow", Jak mindroared, "shove the literature up in your shiny arse!"

"Well", Light continued in the dry tone, "I really _could_ do it, but you really don't want to turn back with The Lord of the Ping-Pong Balls stuffed into your behind, don't you?"

Jak didn't mind to answer. He was just thinking of the girl who he once had considered as an even better friend than Daxter.

Then she had changed.

Because he had changed. But why didn't she understand that he hadn't chosen to be changed?

Jak felt a fire in the inner corners of his eyes. He clenched his fists and tried to fight back the tears. The lump in his throat slowly melted. Jak didn't cry. He just didn't. He was the hero. Heroes didn't cry for –

"Poor bitter mechanic bitches?"

- anything.

"Did you know", Light asked, "that when you're angry or wretched, your body produces toxic hormones that are usually let out via tears? Holding back the toxins gives Dark more playground to play on."

Jak thought about the one he had used to be. The jet-hair boy. He realised that he had actually hated violence, way back then.

…And now he had killed almost as much of civilians as enemies, and had cheered in Ottsel's fighting club. The fighting had been raw, but fair. Dark had pleaded to get into the ring, but Jak was wise enough to keep himself away. Light hadn't liked the show at all, grumbling all the time.

Jak twirled a cluster of his green hair in his fingers. It was more like a tomentum, he thought. His hair wasn't in its best condition now. Keira had always cared about the hair of hers, and always complained about Jak having his hair jetting out of his head…

Jak remembered his hair. He had thought it was just so cool, and had secretly back-combed it to make it look even more bigger. Daxter had been so envious about it, and once Keira had confessed that it was really good looking. It was just so tangled and rasta-like from the inside, that it could have never been combed…

So it was shaved.

So that the Baron could attach wires into his head.

But it grew back. Jak didn't remember anymore how he had got it dyed blonde. He knew he should have, but he didn't. Getting his hair dyed blonde in Baron's jail just seemed too absurd to happen, but it really had…

Then Jak had kept it long for a long time, until he was once almost killed as it blocked his sight while fighting a Metal Head. He found scissors and sheared it a little. He guessed he'd always remember the scream Keira had squeezed out. Daxter had hid behind a curtain, and Jak had wondered if all the citizens on that side of the city knew just how stupid, ugly, moronic and dull his new hair was. He had been stubborn and refused to let a hairdresser (or Keira) neaten it. And then, later, he had cut it off almost completely, making Jinx pay him thirty orbs. Keira didn't say a thing about it this time, she had avoided talking to Jak nearly entirely.

Jak supposed he knew why.

"Yeah yeah, but Ashelin's –" Dark snapped, "what was the word again? Gendooral organs?"

"Glandural", Light helped him.

"Yep. Ashelin's glandural organs –"

Jak didn't register they talking to him or fighting against each other. He was too busy thinking about his hair. He realised how vain it was, and sighed, letting Light cut in: "Twirling your hair is a sign of mental insecurity."

Jak didn't want to be insecure. He was the hero. He felt proud of it. Who shouldn't have! He had saved the world three times, and he truly was proud of it. And that made him feel ashamed. And that made him feel stupid.

And that made him feel insecure.

And that made him feel bad.

And that hurt.

And the fact that something so stupid was hurting him hurt even more, and the fact that the hurt –

"Quite a perplexed creature you are, I must say", Light said, "how about going to talk to someone who qualifies as a psychologist?"

"Yeah", Dark laughed, "you might even find little voices from your head."

Jak closed his eyes. He wanted the voices off his head! Not just the tenebrous one, the incandescent one, too!

No you don't.

It wasn't Dark or Light. It was himself. He had a conscience. It was hard to believe, but he had one. Its voice usually drowned into the ocean caused by Light and Dark, but sometimes, in silent moments, it rose its head and blamed Jak for all its weight.

Must be admitted that it was bantamweight, but it managed to thrust a small needle into Jak's guts.

Jak knew he didn't want the monsters out of his head. He owed them. They were a part of him. And even if he got them away, the damage was already done.

And the greatest damage of all wasn't done by the eco-creatures. It was done by Jak, and only Jak alone.

Suddenly Jak couldn't hold back anymore. His throat uttered a sharp and short cry and he buried his head against his legs. He tried his best to hold back the sobs and other inarticulate sounds but didn't succeed very well. Dark was raging in his head, not really understanding that his tantrum only made Jak weep more, and Light was attacking against Dark; he understood neither. The battle in his head made it feel heavy and caused him a headache, and the sobs grew louder. The tears ran down his cheeks, tasting salty if they walked astray onto his lips. Jak felt ashamed. He was the hero! Not a cry baby! He wasn´t supposed to weep! Boys don't cry – No! - men don't cry! He was an adult man, Mar - damn it! He was _the_ Mar!

"Jak?" an uncertain voice asked from the door. Torn had never felt comfortable with people showing heavy lachrymose. He had cried himself sometimes, but when he cried the tears just ran down his face. He was fine with people who shed tears like that, and although he had never thought about Jak weeping, he was sure that it would have been a more Jak-like way to do it instead of sobbing on his bathroom's corner curled up as a ball. But, Jak had really never showed any emotions, and when he did, he always surprised Torn. The boy was a lot more beautiful person than what he let the others see, and this had nothing to do with Light Jak.

"Sorry", the sobbing ball managed to whisper, "please, go back sleeping." Now he felt ashamed even more. Torn was there. Jak didn't feel just ashamed: he felt wholly humiliated, childish, poor fish and selfish. Who was he to cry when the city was doing fine? Who was he to wake Torn up with a sobbing over stupid reasons? He just wished for the tears to stop and for Torn to go away – and that made him feel selfish even more.

Torn was thinking, looking at the shuddering faery, who looked smaller than Daxter. He wondered if Jak cried frequently. And was it always like this? He knew that now when he had got into the scene, he should do something. His first idea was to call for Daxter… His second idea was to open the shower (don't ask why!)… He didn't like the two first thoughts. His third idea was to hug him. He thought it was probably a thing he should do, usually people hugged other people for comfort, didn't they? The situation just was too strange, Torn was a logical faery! He wanted a point A with a path to point B, or at least a wall soft enough to be driven through. But his point A and point B didn't contain he in his underwear on the sill of his bathroom hugging hysterically crying Jak under a shower.

"Please, go away", Jak sobbed, but it sounded more like an antonym.

Torn walked to him, rose him up, and closed him into his arms. Jak wrapped his arms around him, laying his head against Torn's shoulder and neck.

"Ev'rything fill be fine", Torn whispered, feeling that he had to say something, "just wait and see. Ev'rything will turn out fine."

Jak uttered a high voice and Torn felt a few teardrops already running down his back.

Although Torn didn't know why the green-haired boy was crying, he promised himself that whatever the reason was, he'd do everything he could to make everything fall in place.

* * *

_Da: "I have a tear in my eye!" _

_Sipuli: "Sorry.." (Sipuli is translated as "onion") _

_Da: "No, it wasn't you." _

_Lucius: "My fur?" _

_Da: "No, you neither." _

_maestro: "What then?" _

_Da: "The chapter!" _

_maestro: "What? That? Well, after the chapter two, anything would be better. Yet still…" _

_Sipuli: "Blaah blaah. We want some reviews don't we?" _

_Lucius: "Yes we do! You love us, don't cha?" _


	4. Rain, Pain & A Stupid Chapter Name

_Characters are blah blah Naughty Dog's. Except for the ones I made up. But Naughty Dog can have them if they wish to so I guess it's fine blah blah. I just so –heart- these dull copyright-licence-depsy-dupsys, does it show, eh? –smile- _

**_Afeenaninganing_**_, I'll see what I can do… I like Keira+Jak –pair, too, but you see, Keira has got lots to forgive… Perhaps too much. Time will show… -evil grin- Bwahhahhahhaa! And yes, milk rules! Thanks for the review! _

**_jaklover123_**_, oops, sorry. Bwahhahhaa! I'm evil… Okay, it's wonderful to hear that someone feels bad for something I've written for a character. Like… eeh… Am I the only one who thinks my words get pretty tangled now? And there's too much of tripleperiods. Oh well… Thanks! _

**_LunarSquirrel_**_, SQUIRREL! Wow! –a pretty big chipmunk scene including some pop music and flying pieces of dried papaya- Thanks for your review! You've added me in your favourite stories! Omigod, I think I'm gonna faint… -eeeekkk! more flying papaya- _

**_Tank_**_, you love us? Wow… Wooonderful! Thank you for reviewing! _

_(the usual means a lot for me stuff which never changes – love you all!) _

_Da: "People seem to like us." _

_Lucius: "Wow! I love them, too, then!" _

_Sipuli: "That's just great! But think of the pressure!" _

_Da: "I'm getting gray hair!" _

_Sipuli: "I'm losing my pollen!" _

_Lucius: "I eat too much of almonds!" _

_All three: "EEEEEEKKK!" _

_maestro: "Quiet. We will update as soon as we can. Now we have had some problems with the chapter five." _

_Sipuli: "And still have. That's why we postponed the chapter four, although it was ready as the chapter three was online." _

_Da: "Really really really sorry to keep you waiting!" _

_maestro: "And also we have written a quite huge chapter of twelve pages –" _

_Lucius: "Sorry about that. You won't be able to read til the end, unless you'll read inside a fridge –" _

_maestro: -wham- "- but you will not see it yet. Here comes the chapter four and warning –" _

_Lucius: "Includes some language I like!" _

_maestro: "He means rude." _

_Lucius: "Yeah!" _

_maestro: -wham-_

_

* * *

_

4. **Rain & Pain**

It was raining. What a surprise.

The people had either umbrellas or then they wore slickers. Except for one girl. She rode her rainbow coloured zoomer through the torrent wearing blue bikini with white polkadot pattern. People looked at her, the aspect depending on the viewer's sex. The driver didn't care. It was her zoomer and she for sure drove it in clothes she wanted to – and she loved rain! Rain was one of the things that Haven city had not spoilt. Haven had started to feel more and more like her home, but she still missed the little village everything had started…

* * *

Torn stretched his limbs and yawned heavily. It was _only_ midday. The Return of Mar surely had got his circadian all mixed up. He had slept _only_ for six hours! And all for that reasonless lachrymation. The younger faery had fallen asleep soon after he had returned to his bed, a thin mattress on the floor. Torn, on the other hand, had stayed awake for time that felt like decades, thinking. Thinking about himself and Haven. The past and the future. Jak and Ashelin. The furballs.

He found it hard to imagine that he actually could stand being around the orange lump of hair. That he could actually live together with him and his girlfriend. Torn had never liked Daxter. For most of the time he had hated the rodent. But since Jak had gone to Spargus and Torn had become a tenant to Ottsel, he had gotten to know Daxter better. The ottsel was a lot more than what he let show. But wasn't everyone? Torn thought about the image he had given out and shuddered with a smile. Being _that_ Torn had been quite hard sometimes, but sometimes quite satisfying, too.

"And it was a must", he told himself. Being the Underground commander. The war otherwise. The turbulence in his relationship with Ashelin. _That_ Torn had been an excellent shield to keep the emotions inside, although sometimes Torn had just wanted to run away and hid under a mountain. And probably he had done it, if he hadn't had enough of the instinct of self protection. You see, Metal Heads and mountains made quite a couple, didn't they?

However the boy who had walked into his "office" seemed to have a serious lack of the abovementioned. More than once had Torn given him tasks he hadn't expected him to be able to tell the tale about - and more than once had he passed them with flying colours. The boy had become more close to him than the other men under his control; first because he had been such a wonderful soldier, then because he had stayed around Torn, kind of craving for a contact or at least a teeny weeny spark of… something. Friendship? Needless to say, the commander had never given him anything else than missions. If he hadn't been that busy with the war, he had surely stayed by his side when he was injured and unconscious, and if it hadn't been for that war, he had perhaps sometimes talked to Jak in a friendlier way. Maybe that was why Jak had searched for intimacy from Ashelin's direction. All the closer options had rejected him: Daxter was an ottsel, and he was like a brother to Jak, but brothers needed friends, too. Keira had rejected Jak because of the monster in his head, and later when she had been ready to support him, Jak had rejected her helping hand.

"I rejected him, too", Torn thought, but didn't feel too guilty about it. The circumstances…

So it left him with Ashelin.

Torn wasn't mad about it. He had been bitter, he had been angry. But he understood the situation. Ashelin was a kind of a woman who didn't rest on her laurels. Jak was looking for closeness. Torn and Ashelin had broke up quite a while before it. Torn couldn't blame the young faery for stealing his girlfriend, as she hadn't been his girlfriend anymore. Surely he had still cared about her, but it was just life to see your ex moving on. It had to hurt, but a little needle in your heart doesn't kill you, doesn't it?

However, Torn wasn't sure about the Jak plus Keira –situation. Keira hadn't just been bitter. Nor angry. Nor furious. She had been outrageous, dangerous and unstable. Torn had seen Keira only a few times before meeting her "new anger issue self"; he had thought she was a happygolucky country girl who had survived in Haven only because he's father was The Shadow Senior. Then, he realised that she really was an ammo dump already on fire - after rejecting Jak for such a monster, she had become one herself. It was such a fortune for Ashelin that the newly formed couple had decided to move to Spargus; Torn was sure that otherwise Keira had snapped sooner or later. Even so the ex-commander wasn't sure if the mechanic and the hero had been a couple. Daxter skipped the question if he was asked, and the redhead had no guts to ask the girl herself. Keira had gone through it so well - she wasn't a package of dark eco anymore. Torn was afraid to ask her anything green-goatee-related… He had got to know Keira, too, and she really was a sweet girl, unless someone brought Jak up. She didn't even explode anymore if she heard Ashelin's name; her tone of voice stated that she took pity on her, which had surprised Torn, and instead of saying her name Keira usually used a word "bitch". But when the topic became Jak, Keira started resembling an active volcano.

Torn had never seen a volcano, an active or not. But he had read that their continental plate used to be full of volcanic action and magma. Keira had told that the land had been full of volcanic cracks – Torn had finally understood that the blonde, the aquahead and the rodent had came 400 years from the past – 437 was the exact amount of years if you could rely on Onin. Torn didn't want to think about the shock the whole new yet still whole old world must have been…

* * *

"Let him catch some z's", a faery dressed in a brand new light green jacket said, "I kinda kept him awake last night. He's deserved some good sleep." For once the both voices in his head were quiet. One because just seeing blood was enough to satisfy his sic mind. One because Jak was cleaning the red stripes and spots.

"How did you succeed in that?" Daxter asked and 'ice skated' into the other corner with brushes attached to his paws, "remember when he didn't sleep at all? Nowadays it's hard to keep him from sleepin'."

"He has a right to do it", Jak said chuckling, watching his friend making a pas de chat. He dipped his brush into a bucket, "without him the Haven wouldn't exist anymore."

"Oh yeh, all honour for him, _Mar_!"

"Thanks, Dax", Jak smirked smiling at some en dedans pirouettes, "without you I hadn't done anything."

"Without ya I hadn't become a beautiful creature called Precursor."

"Sorry, Dax…"

"What! I'm an ottsel and fine with it", Daxter smiled, "honestly! I've got Tess in my life and in a way I shall thank you about it. I'd probably be -"

"Tess?" a speakerbox sprang to life, "Torn? Daxter? Anybody home?"

Jak dropped the brush. It made a louder-than-what-it-really-was sound as it hit the floor.

The time stood still.

Jak could have recognized that voice whenever and wherever, although he hadn't been able to do it years before and he still felt like he should have.

"Are you guys gonna let me in or not! It's freezing here!"

"Just come in!" Daxter said, got to the door with a few petits sautés and started yelling as he saw the one behind it, "ya sure are a great mechanic, but just how prudent you are? It's been raining for decades and you go out in ya bikini."

"More clothes, more stuff to get wet!" a girl with an aqua-like hair and amazingly thin waistline entered the room. Suddenly she gave a gasp and glowered, staring at the middle of the Ottsel.

Jak opened his mouth but couldn't utter a voice.

They stared at each other…

"…"

"…"

Keira closed her mouth and tilted her head a little letting a smile awake on her lips.

Jak smiled back, a glorious feeling growing within him.

"So you came back", the girl said her hoarse voice blowing up the feeling of his like a balloon, "I should have known you'd come. Where's the bitch anyway?..."

"In Spargus, they broke up",Daxter explained and Jak gave him an angry look, "eeh, I mean –"

"Wonderful", Keira laughed honey oozing out of her voice, "so you just tried her out, dumped her and then came back to try something – should I say? – older. Oh, I might be flattering myself now."

"Keira…" Jak began.

"Jak", Keira snapped and her eyes silenced the green-haired faery completely, "don't expect me to become your friend again. Goodbye."

Jak watched how the girl turned her back hurling water drops from her hair, rushed out of the door, jumped into her zoomer, and drove away through the pouring rain.

Did the rain really sound that loud?

Did the scent of hers still float in the room?

"You never know what you've got until it's gone", Light preached.

"Exactly", Dark continued, "so get in Haven before it's too late!"

"SHUT UP!" Jak screamed, making Daxter bounce approximately seven feet in the air.

"J-j-jak?"

"Not you", Jak roared jumping up and turning his back at the ottsel, "the monsters", he added apologising, turned briefly at the rodent's direction and then stampeded off passing surprised Torn who was just opened the soundproof door.

The situation had told everything. The pained look in Jak's eyes he had given him had explained the redhead what was going on. The reason for the night time turmoil was Keira. And Torn quite sheepishly admitted, that this time the reason wasn't a thing he could fix.

* * *

"You go talk to him!"

"No, you go!"

"_You_ go!"

"Not me!"

"Mar on a Metal Head, you're the same family!"

"I'm not! I'm an orphan!"

"He's your bro."

"He's not."

"He is. And do not _ever_ say "he's not my brother" when he's to hear it."

"Who are ya to talk about our relationship anyway?"

"He has enough handling in the situation: Keira."

"That's not my problem!"

"Correct. _But_…"

"But what?"

"You are his closest friend, you are his brother!" Torn's voice started growing.

"Don't shout! He might hear!"

"Get on the roof!"

"He's surely flown away!"

"You wish!"

"I don't think –"

"GO!"

"Yeah yeah… I'll raise your rent for this!"

"GO!"

* * *

"Give me the fucking wings!"

"My wings make love with no-one."

"Give them to me! Now, come out! Fly!"

"I'm not your aeroplane."

"Please! Pretty please! I want to get on my ledge!"

"No. I won't fly, especially in a weather like this. The humidity is about equal to an ocean from the view of a fish."

"Please? Please come out!"

"Even if I did come out, I wouldn't fly. And that would suck, wouldn't it?"

"You ain't fair!"

"Well, who is?"

"…" Jak slid down his back against the wall and sat on the messy roof, "fuck you!"

"Literature."

"FUCK YOU!"

"Dark", Light sighed, "he amazes us again, doesn't he?"

"Yeah. I'm truly shocked about him", Dark grinned, "has he always been such a softie?"

"You tell me, you've been in longer."

"Shut up again, please", Jak whispered, "I'm really starting to get outrageous on you! Soon I will really want you out of my head!"

"Jak?" someone knocked on the wooden hatch in another gable of the roof, "we need to… talk."

"Come in, Daxter", the faery muttered, "or actually out. Or whatever."

"Jak…" the rodent sounded apologizing already and twiddled his little hands nervously, "you might have noticed, that I have avoided you… a little… lately."

"Yeah", he muttered his forehead against his arms.

"Well… There is a reason to it. And it's also the reason why Onin is on ruins and… I guess it's the reason why Keira's not afraid to drive in bikini!"

"Tell me."

"Well…" Daxter bit his lip – or the place where it should have been, "you know Samos?"

"Of course I do", Jak sounded frustrated, "what about him?"

"Well… The thing is that… Oh well… Beautiful weather isn't it?"

"Daxter, it's raining. Get into the subject."

"Well… Ten months ago… Samos… Fell asleep… And…"

"No Dax!"

"Yes", Daxter sounded tortured, "he… it was so sudden… Within a week, his life-force just disappeared. He was fine with it, but of course we others weren't –"

"No!"

Ottsel nodded.

"NO! Why didn't you tell me?" Jak screamed for both to the angel in his head and his friend in front of him.

"Keira didn't want you to know!" Daxter peeped, "we tried to call you and Ashelin, but your communicator was never on, and then Samos was already dead, and things got all crazy, and Keira wasn't in her best condition and started drinking, and then… Well, after a week from that, we had the funeral. We tried to contact you, but you never were there! Or once you were, but then you said you were too busy and hung up on Keira, and then after the funeral, Keira told us, that if any of us is going to tell you, she'd rip our flesh out of bones, and we valued her wish as she is the only blood relative to Samos, and we did our best to make Keira feel comfortable, as she was in such a fragile state of mind and was drinking and taking some mushrooms and –" Daxter took a deep breather.

"No", the faery squaked, "it can't be."

"I'm sorry, Jak!" Daxter came and hugged his head, "I'm sorry."

"He was our father."

"He was."

"Why did he die?"

"He said that he didn't get enough green eco anymore. It was this world, he said it had drained him from the very beginning."

"Haven killed him."

"Well, yeah… He said something bout that like people these days have dark eco inside them when it used to be green. Like, that dark and white aco are everywhere when the colourful ecos are artificially created or something… I'm sorry, Jak!"

"That's okay, Daxter", Jak felt like he should cry, but after the breakdown last night he didn't have anything in store. "okay… Keira hates me. Samos is dead."

"You've got us."

"And I'm so fucking thankful for you!" Jak whispered and closed Daxter into his embrace.

* * *

_maestro: "Ommm… Oh, you have read it already? Well. I think you should know that the name of the story will change someday." _

_Da: "Back To Haven is just a working name, like, kinda, you know." _

_Lucius: "It won't harm your reading pleasure, will it, eh?" _

_Sipuli: "We use too much of eh nowadays…" _

_Lucius: "That's wohoo-sy!" _

_Sipuli: "Not again… Bye!" _


	5. 1 In Public & 1 Hidden In A Flowerpot

_Naughty Dog and SONY can have all the characters._

_**Afeenaninganing**, your eternal waiting is now over. –smile- Thanks for the review!_

_**LunarSquirrel**, thank you! "Real good" just made my midnight! holds out a bag of dried apricots Thanks for the review!_

_**jaklover123**, of course it's a good thing. Whatever makes Keira drive a zoomer in rain in bikini is a good thing. –cough- Anyway, I'm not sure where this story is going to, but I can say that there won't be any Jakxter… I hate that pairing. –shivers- But otherwise the case is open - M/M and F/F can happen - and whatever else can happen, too… Thanks for the review!_

* * *

_maestro: "No! We are slipping out of the habit!"_

_Lucius: "Whatcha mean, ol' fella?"_

_maestro: "We will need to have the second next chapter written before posting the next one!"_

_Lucius: "Shut up, hag, we can write the second next chapter right after this."_

_Sipuli: "No we won't. Our back is hurting."_

_Da: "Well there you are right! I guess I should either lay back or then dance like crazy…"_

_Lucius: "Dance."_

_maestro: "Lay and sleep."_

_Sipuli: "Eat?"_

_maestro: "While laying."_

_Da: "Whatever… This doesn't work out!"_

_maestro: "Moron! Who told you to eat yoghurt and muesli upside down!"_

_Da: "I need a bar of chocolate and a laundry service right now!"_

_Sipuli: "I need fertilizers!"_

_Lucius: "I need almonds!"_

_maestro: "I need a moment of silence, please? Right here."_

* * *

5. **One In Public & One Hidden In A Flowerpot**

The streets of Haven were crowded. The sun was shining from the zenith. Rain clouds were slowly sailing away, over the mountains, after giving their all for the city situated in probably the most stupid place for a metropolis – surrounded by mountains, sea and desert, hmm, you can't expect rain to come, eh? Well, blame it on Mar. Oh by the way, at the very moment he was at Uzla's…

* * *

The smell was quite pleasant. Something of it reminded him of Sandover.

"Hmm… What is this smell?"

"Oh, it's buranda flower", a girl – Piotta or something – replied, "small pink petals."

"Oh, that." _Keira's favourite flower._ "What does this buranda stuff do to me?"

"It calms your skin", Piottaorsomething answered, "now we'll let it stay on your face for ten minutes, then I'll get back and take it off. Now you have ten minutes for yourself – you can have a nap if you wish to."

"You're leaving?"

"If you have nothing against it. It's a normal convention."

"Okay, thanks."

"Just call if you wish to have something."

"I will."

Jak opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, decorated with fake grape vines. Peaceful music played, and the buranda-smelling gel on his face felt cool.

And he had thought he would just come and dye his hair.

No, no, no!

Torn had dropped him at Uzla's and after his hair had been dyed and shortened (a little), his goatee neatened and his eye brows plucked, he had been hurled into a divan and given a facial. He had said "no!" for whole body massage and other things the girls had offered him (some weren't that modest or legal), but in the end he consented to have a facial.

It had been over an hour ago since he had been wrapped in coverlets. Laying. Eyes open. Eyes shut. Different girls came in and went out, everybody enthusiastic to treat the Great Mar. None of the girls had been memorised into his mind, except for Kaysheel, a black haired bombshell with a voice seductive enough to make Torn kiss Daxter just to hear another word.

"Forget Ashelin! Kaysheel is –"

Yep, Dark was keen on her, too.

Jak had thanked the precursors for the fact that he had had a thick layer of blankets wrapped around him – otherwise the situation could have turned out to be very embarrassing…

The mild scent of buranda made Jak feel comfortable. It was a scent from home. From the past.

Keira.

From the past.

Keira.

_Past!_

Keira.

"Face the fact, you've lost her", Dark said sounding bored, "so get over her, and the ginger bitch dressed in leather, and think about all the pleasures the bombshell called Kaysheel could do. She gave you a facial, now it's your turn."

"Dark!" Jak hissed, "that's disgusting."

"Believe me, it's not!"

"How could you know it, eh!"

"Of course I – what are you now -"

"What?"

"- nothing."

"What are you two doing?"

"Nothing."

"Really? That's not your style! You are really driving me nuts!"

But the two voices remained silent until Piottasomeone came back.

* * *

The treatment should have cost thirty orbs, but Mar got it for free. Also, an enormous sign had been put at the display window.

MAR GOES HERE

"Don't blush! Don't blush! Don't blush!" Jak repeated in his head. A mob was outside waiting for him… Damn! How could he even get home? Walking? He couldn't highjack a vehicle now in front of the crowd, wouldn't he? He had forgotten to ask Torn if he came to collect him… As soon as Jak stepped out of the door, a bony woman with dark brown hair and glasses rushed to him: "All our readers must be thrilled about the one question floating in the air: why did you return and why did you leave Praxis's daughter behind you?" she pushed a small microphone against Jak's nose.

"Don't you love her?" an old woman shrieked and the crowd started talking.

"Eh –" Jak felt totally confused but suddenly he was rolled over and pushed onto a zoomer.

"The private life of Mar does not belong on news papers", Keira said in a kind tone, "he'll give an official press announcement when he sees himself ready to it."

"The whole city is anticipating to get the answer: why did the great Mar come back? We all know that he left to give Alorah an empty playground without pressures" the bony woman continued, "the answer would –"

"His heir-ness found the year in Spargus a nice vacation – variety is the spice of life! During the year he realised how much he felt Haven was his home and he learned to appreciate this beautiful city even more. The heir was also keen to see the changes Alorah had done and – I can reveal that – he was more than pleasantly surprised." Jak stared at Keira his jaw in the midair. Where was the bitter monster? Who was this spotlight-friendly covergirl – and who was this heir she was talking about! Surely, it couldn't have been Jak, he, himself, no way…

"Well what about the daughter of Praxis? Her residence is still in southern Spargus –"

"That question will be answered when the time is right", Keira answered smiling, "now unfortunately the heir's time is up – lots of things to see and explore and the day ain't long enough. I shall say you goodbye", Keira turned her back, sat before Jak and turned the power on.

"But people are anticipating to –" the woman tried to shout at the floating zoomer.

"Mar will speak soon", Keira smiled and gave the zoomer a gas.

"What the hell was that?" Jak yelled after a while.

"Hands off my waist", Keira snapped, "your heir-ness should _not_ touch me."

"What was that heir-ness stuff and..?" Jak shouted trying to decide how to ride the zoomer without touching Keira.

"Don't fall unless Light is ready to fly! Daxter will kill me if you return bottled in spirits."

"So what was that…?"

"Polishing your halo", the driver snorted, "you're just so great in front of press and people."

"Press?"

"News papers!", Keira snapped again in a frustrated tone, "you see, we have a real news paper now, called Haven News. Not just a magazine to laud the Baron."

"Was that woman -?" Jak found himself uncomfortably leaning back.

"She was a journalist. Her job is to write about the private lives of famous people."

"Famous people?"

"For FlutFlut's sake, you are _the_ Mar. You're the next famous to Alorah. Daxter and Tess are famous, too, as Daxess and Tester are so far-famed. Even Torn has been in Haven News."

"But what was all that b.s.?"

"I said already! Polishing your halo. You can't just go and talk to press like 'I left her, eh' or 'eeh I dunno'. You need nice phrases which are thought over." Keira made a quick turn, almost collided with a private Hell Cat, swore and almost made Jak flew into a now cleaned and flourishing piece of sea trapped inside the city walls.

"But I'm not anything like –" he said surprised by Keira's behaviour.

"People want a Mar who loves the city. A Mar who loves them. Remember this:" Keira said after a while and parked her zoomer on Ottsel's roof, "when you are in public, in front of crowd, in front of press, you are _the_ Mar. You ain't Jak, then."

Jak was confused. He had never thought that Mar and Jak were different persons – he was them both right?

"When asked what-do-the-Great-Mar-think-about-the-city, you must talk only good. When asked about the Baron, you must talk only bad. And so on… Light jokes or sarcasm do the trick. Be polite but not too lame. You must have an answer to everything, and if you don't have an answer, announce that it's not its time yet or some kind crap lika that. Just if you could, let me do the talking now at the beginning – _if_ we happen to be at the same place at the same time, which I doubt. So, let Tess do the talking. Or even Torn. Don't let Daxter open his mouth. Oh, and now go in. Torn and Daxter need to explain you stuff about the new city rules and I need to get my nails done."

"Nails done? You're a mechanic!"

"Yes, I am only a mechanic – oops, and the owner of one of the biggest garages of the city. When you run a big garage with other people as your hired hands, you hardly touch any machines and you must look good as clients and sponsorships do not come for easy", Keira kicked her rainbow coloured zoomer up and hollered with a super nice and hyperüberextra sweet voice: "bye, your heir-ness!"

Again Jak stared after her, the smell of buranda still floating somewhere in his mind.

* * *

He had came.

She kicked the door open and threw the keys angrily at the floor, the concrete screeching a little.

He fucking had walked into the town like he owned it.

Oops!

_He owned it._

She shook her head and went to her fridge. She weighed the vodka bottle in her mind. To open or not to?

She decided not to. She would not go back to the old just because her old had came back.

That asshole!

She took her shoes off. The concrete was rough, like it always was. She opened a soft drink bottle, lime and wumpa with no added sugar. Fine. Normally she enjoyed the taste, but now she just didn't care.

Lime and wumpa in my ass!

She hit the empty bottle against the table and took another one. Blueberry beverage.

She limped along to her living room, the only other room in her apartment excluding the kitchen. The floor changed into parquetry and her feet cherished the feeling of cold wood.

She drank.

Suddenly she found herself again from the fridge. To open or not to open? She took the vodka bottle and opened the cork.

"If it touches my lips, I'm gone", she said.

She turned the bottle over and let the pure alcohol run into the drain.

Saved.

She went to her bed and peeked underneath it. Another bottle was dragged out. Again, a long moment of thinking. To or not to?

Not to.

Then the top shelf in the kitchen. The one hidden in a flower pot. The drain.

She remembered the other bottles hidden in her house. There were only three left.

She searched them all, and poured them away.

Then she sat on her bed and laughed out of relief.

"I did it!" she screamed, "I'm over him! I'm over drinking! I'm over him!"

She smiled and leaned backwards. The silky coverlet was cool. She pressed her cheek deeper into it and slowly she fell asleep.

The sun began its journey to west.

* * *

What was this city?

"You can't highjack a zoomer", had the tattooed ex-commander said, "that's illegal and this time our camp is on the legal side."

He was the damn Mar, he owned the whole city. Thus, all the hoover vehicles, too.

"No", the redhead had preached, "Mar cannot highjack a zoomer. Mar can ask if he can borrow a zoomer and then return it in prima condition. Which ain't likely to happen as I know your driving skills."

He had got a bit angry of that.

"You are a fast driver", Torn had said, "but hmm… let's say… you follow absurd flying lines."

He was sitting on the roof again. On the place where Keira had dropped him off. He had some kind of oil on his face. He wanted desperately to wipe it off, but knew that it would do only harm for his skin.

"It relaxes and eases the pores", had some cosmetician girl said.

Fine. How great.

Frustration.

"About what?" Light asked kind of gently, "you can tell me."

"I won't", Jak snorted, "and just like you wouldn't know already."

"Well, I do. But it eases you if you open up to someone."

"Thanks Light, but no thanks."

"You're welcome. Just talk to me if you wish to."

"Ta", Jak leaned against the brink. The ocean was dark from the area the city walls or the mountains surrounded it, but more faraway the water still glittered of the sunlight.

"Light?"

"Yes?"

"Could we fly to my cliff?"

"Sorry, we can't."

"And why is that? It's not raining?" he persuaded.

"The cliff isn't a safe place anymore. Parts of it collapsed during the rainstorm."

"Oh", Jak sat down his back against the brim, "a pity."

"Yes", Light continued, "I liked that ledge, too."

"Damn Mar, a cliff in the middle of nowhere!" Dark spat out, "the greatest ledge of peripheria! Festivity!"

"It was a nice ledge", Jak said and twirled a lock of his. They were now platinum again. Or not actually platinum. Kind of yellowish gold… Though the colour seemed ecru in the dim lighting.

"Ecru?" he asked Light.

"Like beige."

"And what was that?"

"A very light, a bit greyish brown."

"Ta. It's good to have an encyclopaedia like you in my head."

"Thank you."

"And Dark…"

"Yes, your heir-ness?"

"I sometimes almost like you, too."

"Thanks. I'm flattered", Dark chuckled.

"You're welcome", Jak chuckled back. Maybe, _just maybe_, maybe he could someday like the creatures in his head…

* * *

_Lucius: "Whacha say?"_

_maestro: "This was put together out of three very short chapters. I prefer long chapters."_

_Sipuli: "Now we would again love all the love letters you can send us. Press 'review the story' or something and that should do the trick. If you hate us, please say it and loud, too!"_

_Da: "But of course you don't hate us, right?..."_


	6. Who Betrayed & Who?

_The characters are mostly products of Naughty Dog. The ones that are not, can be used by them if they want to. Blaah blaah... Copyrights, licenses, rights and wrongs, blaah blaah..._

_**Afeenaninganing**, awww… Thanks! I thought there was a big plothole for Keira – I put Sig have a pedicure, so why shouldn't Keira have her nails done? I also feel this kind of little things evolve the character without making it a truly OC… I hope! –smile- Good you liked it! _

_**LunarSquirrel**, I had fun deciding where to hid the bottles. Unfortunately it turned out to be too heavy for the story telling so I had to shorten the story of the three last bottles. Not literally! –smile again-_

_**Meowen**, -gives the head back- I made you love suspense? Wow! You just made my week! Sipuli, Da, Lucius Hip and maestro Kynsilaukka ('maestro Garlic') are kind of alter egoes, parts of my personality. When the four are put together, the equation is me. And oh, Finnish is my native tongue. –blink-_

_**jaklover123**, I must say that you might have had an influence to this chapter… -a smiley blinking an eye- _

_Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! This means a lot to me (and stuff and stuff and periodperiod)!_

* * *

_Sipuli: "Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us!"_

_maestro: "One year more."_

_Da: "EEEEEK! I have an wrinkle!"_

_maestro: "No, it is just the lighting."_

_Da: "Whew! I really felt like I was getting a heart attack!"_

_Lucius: "So say, maestro, if we all are the same age, who are you so ancient and fossilised?"_

_maestro: -wham-_

_Lucius: "AAAAAAK! –splat-"_

_maestro: "Make sure you keep your mouth shut or you will notlive as old as I am!"_

_Da: "Psst… He is already!"_

_Sipuli: "Actually no. Maestro is four years old, I'm three, you are two and that running chipmunk is only one year old."_

_Da: "Well that explains it. Did he beat you too, like he know beats Hip?"_

_Sipuli: "Of course not. You forget that I can zap him for that. Hip cannot."_

_maestro: "Ommm…"_

_

* * *

_

6. **Who Betrayed & Who?**

Weeks had passed. Jak was having already green roots. Keira had been nowhere to be seen. Luda had been crowned as the "entertainer" of Haven. Sun had shined. The circadian within The Ottsel had been formed:

Jak is first one up, having slept a few hours. He goes to kitchen, drinks wumpa juice and eats rye bread with salted roe on it. Then Tess gets up unless she wakes Daxter up and they decide to have some 'upcoming-family time'. But if Tess got up, she'd eat fruit or perhaps wheat bread with cloudberry marmalade. Then she and Jak start cleaning places from the last night. Daxter is the next one, he rushes to kiss his girlfriend and then has his morning drink. Then he joins the cleaning operation with the brushes attached to his paws. When all the tours en l'airs and battement jetés are done and the three sit down to eat some fruit, Torn stumbles in wearing his underwear, drinks a cup of coffee and then limps along back to his room only to return fully clothed. Of course, _if_ he wakes up without Tess screaming to him. Later Tess and Daxter start making food and Jak and Torn talk about things or go to ride around Haven. After having their stomachs filled, they start to make business, Daxter going around the town trying to find a bands or 'entertainers', or meeting people in a spirit of Daxess. Tess going to shopping or meeting her super-secret fashion spies. If Torn's left alone, he can be found from reading or then drawing. Jak's not a good drawer, he could hardly draw a map, but he enjoyed watching Torn make art. He was such talented in it. Sometimes Daxter or Tess bounced up, started screaming and then rushed to upstairs with the other ottsel telling Torn and Jak not to disturb them. Usually they returned with ideas of new clothes for Tester. Sometimes Tess took Torn with her out, so that Jak and Daxter had crazy time driving round the city or playing games or checking the old places et cetera.

However, this morning when the Haven News were opened and brought before Torn's eyes, he spat the first mouthful of his second coffee at the paper.

"Oh my fucking Mar!" he swore.

"What is there?" Jak asked quickly and stopped rolling his apple round the table.

"Apart from some newly formed coffee stains, shit", the redhair snorted.

"Tell me."

"Read yourself, if you really want", Torn handed the paper over to him.

Jak's eyes widened as he read the headline.

_THIS IS WHY MAR CAME BACK_

"Okay, how nice."

"Keep on reading", the ex-commander recommended, "it gets a lot worse!"

Jak gasped as he read the following lines.

_EVERYONE KNOWS MAR is close to the rodent_

_following him around, but just how close is he to him? _

_Is the relationship between the heir and the animal _

_something more than clean friendship. "It is sexual_

_attraction, anyone can see it", our source, a very close_

_friend of them both told us, "they just can't keep their_

_hands – or should I say paws? – off from each other."_

"This is ridiculous!" Jak shouted and threw the news paper back to Torn without reading the article to the end, "that's bullshit! They are lying!" he stood up so quickly that he fell his chair and the apple rolled over the edge and hit the floor.

"Of course they are", Torn said staying calm.

"That's… An insult!"

"What's happenin'?" Daxter shouted, "what?"

"Read!" Jak tugged the paper out of Torn's hands and threw it (literally) on Daxter.

"WHAT!" Daxter screamed from underneath the paper, "lady Vivinorahsiglieera has got a wrinkle!"

"Not that page!" Jak helped his friend free and searched the right sheet, "this!"

"WHAT!" Daxter screamed again, "this _is_ ridiculous!" he cracked up in laughter, "they've surely had nothing else to write! Listen to this:

'_The heir of the city realised that his relationship_

_to the daughter of the ex-baron was doomed from_

_the very beginning as his heart was with the one_

_with the fur. When homosexuality was made legal_

_by Sexual Committee some time ago, the heir came _

_back to continue his relationship with the rodent_

– THE RODENT? Without me the city would not exist anymore! –

_now Mar shall only hope that the sex with an animal _

_will not be illegalised or that the blonde girlfriend of the _

_rodent's won't bite him in a toe.'_"

Tess burst on the counter and started coughing. "Daxy! Don't kill me! I can't laugh while eating an apple!"

Daxter rushed up on the counter and hugged her, "poor lil' baby, let uncle Daxy show ya how to breathe." They shared a passionate kiss.

"What should I do?" Jak asked Torn, "I want this crap out of the mags."

"I think…" Torn said, "that you should talk to Keira. She is the most press-friendly person of us. Tess is a bit too quirky and well we ones from the uglier sex, we ain't that good with handling journalists."

"Handling journalists?" Dark whispered, "sounds good."

"Well I don't expect Keira to walk in from that door –"

"Well, why don't you go visit her?"

"You expect her to let me in?"

"Well… no."

"Exactly."

"CHEEELEEEPEEEPPPAAAR!"

"Sig!" the four in the room hollered.

"I'll unlock!" Daxter jumped on one of his brushes and slid through the room, "come in buddy!"

"First o' all, here's for ya, cherrie", the big marauder said throwing a peace maker to Jak, "sorry it took so long. Me and Rayn had other things to think about", he threw an affectionate look over his shoulder.

"Come in, come in", chirped Tess and Sig and Rayn came in – followed by someone Jak had least to walk in to the room! Well… Not maybe least. His father, Erol, Baron or BirdLady could have been more farfetched options, but this one was close enough. The most farfetched _living_ option.

"Hi, Tess!" Keira smiled, "Sig and Rayn came to pick me up. They're all mysterious, I was able to squeeze nothing out of them."

"N fo' sure she tried", Sig laughed making Rayn giggle. An affectionate look.

"So what's going on? Why you brought are quite abnormal family together?" Tess chirped.

"Well, me and Sig, we've got something to tell", Rayn said coyly.

"Oh my Mar!" Keira squeaked.

"We're getting married!" Rayn blurted out, and relieved by saying that, she gave Sig a deep kiss.

Because of two other females in the room, the air suddenly was full of "OH MY METAL HEAD NOT REALLY EEH AAH OH MY MAR AWOOHDEOOHDEOOH"s.

Daxter, Torn and Jak watched mouths opened how Tess and Keira bounced and giggled and smiled and freaked and hugged the to-be-wedded-couple and giggled and smiled and screamed along with Rayn.

"Whew…" Torn sighed, "crazy."

"Are they for sure okay?" Jak whispered.

"Perhaps it's just hormones", Daxter whispered back, "or other girl thingies. Maybe that time of the months…"

"So, peppers!" Sig said and came to them, "what would ya say if I asked ya three to be mah best men?"

"Your best men?" the three spat out.

"Wondaful! I knew ya'd consent!"

"Well, of course, we'll consent", Torn was the first one to recover from the shock.

"Yeah, surely", Daxter. recovered, too and started nodding with Jak, who continued:

"Eeeh… What does a best man do?"

"O nothin' too much", Sig laughed, "stands by mah side in da temple, keeps da ring, gives it to me n den has a nice lil' speech of me. Ya'll learn just in time, chilipepper", he then leaned closer to them three gathering their heads together and whispered, "I must admit, that I'm froze to death by this. It's freakin' me out. I need ya guys!"

"We'll keep your six!" Daxter hollered and the men changed high fives.

* * *

Jak showed Keira the magazine, and told Torn had advocated him to talk with her.

"Well, he's smart", she snorted, "you sleep there?"

"Yes." They were in Torn's apartment, Keira had led him here so that they could speak in peace while the downstairs was full of loveydovey-cutiedoodlie couples looking at each other over the table deep in eyes, drinking same liquid perhaps from same glass and being quiet for the whole time. Sane? Hell no! Romantic? For sure! Lovely? Is Daxter orange!

"Heh, pity you. Torn snores."

"I've noticed."

"I betcha have."

"…"

"Where are your stuff?" Keira went to peek in from bathroom's door, "not clothes, I mean some personal stuff."

_I've never had any._ Jak thought and twitched.

"Huh?"

"Didn't bring anything with me."

"Had to leave in a hurry, huh?" Keira giggled again with that honey-voice, which was kind and nice and cute and pleasing, but still let anyone know it was pure sarcasm. If the voice was an object, it was a sharp knife in a pink fluffy sheath.

"…"

Keira sat on Torn's bed and opened up the magazine, "so it was this what caused you stress. Please tell me they didn't find the truth by accident?"

"WHAT?" Jak yelled. _How could Keira even think about that?_

"Okay, I guess no."

"…"

"So, what do you wanna know?"

"What do I have to do!"

"Nothing."

"…But I want this yakowshit away! There´s not even a slightest bit of truth in that 'story'!"

"Jak", Keira sighed and laid back on the bed, "that's a stone pigeon."

"…" Jak stared at the exposed belly button. A sapphire. Keira had her belly button pierced?

"Press cannot stand your silence. Mar is back! They need articles out of Mar. People want to read about the Mar", she laid herself on the bed so that her feet were still on the floor and her torso made a curve. If Jak was already staring, now his eyes wanted to pop out of their sockets.

"…"

"You act like you don't care. You should not care, period. You see, if they see that you care about them, they start to haunt you. You'll control the press or it controls you. Let them write lies about you and then if someone asks, a good answer is 'what? Oh _that_! I noticed it but you know, I don't care about lies written about me.' And oh, that's a fake", she took the 'piercing' off and then clipped it back.

"…"

Keira rose up arching her back and then slowly ran her fingers through her hair.

Jak gulped and wished she didn't notice.

Of course she noticed, gave it an intentionally coy look, a one that made sure it was noticed and looked like it didn't try to be noticed. She giggled mischievously and rose up with a movement making Jak bite his teeth even more. Dark was laughing his ecoes out in the blonde faery's head. Light was deprecating.

"Funny, isn't it?" the honey-voice asked, "you never know what you've –"

"Shut up", Jak whispered quietly.

"Oh, shut up? _Shut up?_ SHUT UP?" an outrage replaced the honey jar, "am I now the one to _shut up_! You might have thought that the fact that you kept everything inside for eternities means that I´m gonna be quiet on my turn, too! Jak, you should know that I no longer play with your rules!"

"With my rules? With my rules?" Jak snarled, "since when did I have _my_ rules? Since when did I choose the path the events followed?"

"Yeah, since when, huh?" the aquahair girl spat sarcastically, "tell me!"

"If you're talking about the thing with me and Ashelin, then you can as well fuck off!"

"FUCK OFF!" Keira shrieked, "am I to fuck off, now? Me! Fuck you off and stop staring at my belly button or I'll clip this gem into a place I really wouldn't mind to touch!"

* * *

When Torn opened the soundproof door, the screaming of Keira pierced right through the pinkfluffydoodledoodle atmosphere of the downstairs. Half of the pairs turned their heads into the direction and the ex-commander could feel a few eyes burning his back. "Sorry", he murmured without meaning it and closed the door. He had watched to ickystickylicketylicky couples for half an hour and he was already filled to his neck. He wanted to throw up – Thursday nights weren't his faves. He had promised Jak and Keira that they could use his apartment, but now he needed to tell them that he really needed to read something depressing on his own bed or otherwise his emotional range might accidentally rise into minus twentyfour from minus twentyfive.

But Keira had blown up. And Jak had blown up. Not good! Torn was almost scared to step into the room! He could imagine them both spiting fire against each other ignoring "easily flammable!" –sings attached to their backs.

"From all the creatures in the world it turned out to be you who betrayed me", Keira exclaimed, "you who let me down. You who broke the promises."

"Keira, I never held a promise for you. And you never held one for me", the words of Jak didn't only hurt her, but they also hurt him, but he couldn't help his mouth from saying them, half-hearted thorns. He couldn't help himself not to ignore the purple sparks flying around in his head, it wouldn't take too long to crack them out.

"JAK!" Keira came close and took a hold of his collar, "some promises are unsaid. They are s'posed to be kept without a single word come out."

"Yeah", Jak snorted and forced himself to stare into Keira's moss green eyes, "_you_ supported me so well when I had hard time."

"Eeh…" Keira let go and melodramatically acted thinking, "could it have been because perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, it's just a contingent possibility, that maybe, it was because suddenly someone I thought I had known had turned into a moody, dark and agony-driven demon of revenge?"

"I can't believe you use Dark Jak as an excuse –" Jak screamed. It was just a matter of time, but he didn't care…

"And let's not forget about that this renegade-like angel of vengeance was actually carrying a white skinned and quite psychopathic killing machine within himself", Keira interrupted, "I don't talk about Dark, I talk about Jak! Of course _you_ wouldn't be confused at all, if I suddenly was a completely different persona. But unfortunately for me, I'm not the Great Mar who can shag any creature he sees!"

"You're bitter. You're bitter and jealous and… bitchy!" Jak screamed.

"Two out of three", Keira made an overhappy facial expression and screamed with an overhappy tone her cheek muscles curved so high as she could, "I am a bitter bitch, but jealous for you? No. Jealous for Ashlelin? _Even_ less! I'm just totally outrageous that you let that evil ginger whore walk into your life and how you can use her to cure your pathetic self-pity! Does it make you feel a man that you drown your woes into booze and vagina?"

"I feel man enough to ignore you're pitiful attempts to make me jealous over you!" Jak yelled, "did you do anything to try and find me? Did you! Did you do anything to understand me!"

"I did ev'rything trying to find you! I did things I didn't want to do, but who was the one not to recognize me!"

"Neither did you!"

"Can you really suppose me to know your voice? You used to spoke so seldom and oops your voice had changed!"

"Well you supported me so well!"

"Who was the one not to support someone? You HUNG UP on me when I tried to tell you that _my_ father was dead."

"He's not your father", Jak spat out, "he's just as much your father as he is my father. Think about it! I was almost three when sent back in past, you are two years younger than me, so –"

"Do NEVER say that he is not my father! He was!"

"Bitter from that, too? Is it your trauma that makes you act like a heartless whore?"

"A whore! A WHORE! Who is the heartless whore, I ask! It's not Ashelin, I say! It's you, Jak! You sell yourself for sporadic pleasure with a woman you hardly know – only because she happens to have a double-D! You sell yourself for a vulcan fury to shoot some civilians up! Your little ginger pussy might make you feel good, but it certainly doesn't help your mental health on a long scale, doesn't it!" – at this point Keira had pushed Jak against a wall and covered his face with her spit and Torn decided it would a good idea to held the decontrolled and struggling lady back – "And", she continued her sermon like she didn't notice Torn grabbing her from waist and herself trying to breakaway, "I'm not gonna tell you all the things wrong with you-plus-Ashelin as I don't want other persons to get involved in this, including someone hanging on my hips, but what I'm gonna say is that YOU BETRAYED ME! FROM ALL THE CREATURES IN THE WORLD YOU FUCKING BETRAYED ME! YOU BETRAYED ME WHEN I NEEDED YOU THE MOST! YOU BETRAYED ME TO CONTINUE YOU'RE SWEET PRE-HONEY MOON! YOU BETRAYED ME! YOU BETRAYED MEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Keira's voice rose into a pitch only to be portrayed as a very loud screech. It could have easily been written on lines of a staff, but writing it with letters would have needed the capital letters to be risen to the 10th power. The following events were quite difficult to write down, too. An onlooker could have said that the meaningless screaming ended with a loud SMACK and Jak was lying on the ground. If watched in slo mo we could see Keira first breaking free from Torn and then slamming her palm straight into Jak's left cheek.

"Hope you happy now", Keira snorted, turned as a blur of ocean green hair, and walked off. The silence stayed in the room until she had closed the street door 23 steps lower.

"Hurts?" Torn asked.

"Yep."

"Why don't cha get up?" he asked stretching out a helping hand.

"I'm fine here, thanks", Jak replied concentrating on nothing.

"I know you haven't asked my personal opinion", the ex-commander crouched in front of the fake-blonde faery and caught his eye, "but in my opinion she was entitled to her little assault. You deserved it."

After saying that he rose up, turned his back and walked off closing the door behind him, leaving the Great Mar lay on the floor.

* * *

Jak made a whirligig-like move in the midair, but still the landing was too hard for his left ankle. He didn't care. He ran/limped and when the first zoomer came into his sight, he went and jumped to it, throwing down the driver, a young man with brown hair. The light green vehicle accelerated swiftly when Jak gave it gas. The engine was roaring and it made Jak feel alive. He noticed tears rising into his eyes but he blamed wind for it. He avoided colliding with another zoomer, then switched levels to debar hitting a pedestrian, and then turned from a corner he had turned many times before.

…But lots of things can change in a year.

Jak had survived many zoomer explosions by jumping off the ride before the easily flammable liquids went to places they should have not gone. But this time he had no time to think, no time to react and the vehicle blew up under him throwing him backwards. For his luck he wasn't hit by the fireball as the blast of pressure wave threw him up in the air, but it was enough bad. He hit the street his head knocking against it and the faery slid on the pawing. First there was a huge needle in his head aching like hell, then a sudden pain in his back. But soon he felt nothing. The lights seemed to grow lighter and whiter, until he saw nothing else than white glimmer. Then it all went black.

* * *

_Da: "Da! There it was! Jak died!"_

_Sipuli: "Shhh! You idiot! We´re not supposed to tell it yet!"_

_Lucius: "Wohoo-sy bruises, something I have common with him."_

_maestro: "Ommm…And the fact that you are dead, too, soon... Ommm..."_

_Lucius: "Kynsilaukka, you ain´t fair! You really ain´t!"_

_Sipuli: "A word of warning, the next chapter is going to be different…Reviews are cherished!"_

_maestro: "Ommm…"_


	7. Impatient & Gruesome

_Characters are probably products of Naughty Dog. If they are, that is that. If they are not, they can have them if they want to._

_**Afeenaninganing**, of course Jak can die. He ain't immortal… BUT, do you expect me to be able to kill him? Well… At least not bringing him back or making him very happy wherever he might go... –cough- Let's just say that you shall not be afraid. And oh, don't be afraid to piss me off, first of all it's almost impossible and secondly, the results do not shake the earth! _

_**LunarSquirrel**, I'm glad that you liked it! Yes, an update is here. _

_**Meowen**, oh my Mar (I've written this so much I've started using these sayings in real life, too… That's quite awkward! x), you really make me feel flattered! Thank you! Now I'll need to go find someone to tell me off, so that this won't get into my head!... About the Sig and Rayn pairing, to be honest, I have never even seen Rayn! I just felt that Sig needed a woman! –grin- About Razer/Razor/whoever, I guess I've seen him, but I didn't feel like I needed him. One of my fears is to make the gang too off-character, that's why I as example use Dax quite a little (yet) and I also get shivers of fear when I add Torn´s emotional range a bit… _

_Thank you for the reviews! Means a lot and ee tee cee… -smile- And now I'll need to stop as the comments are already longer than the chapter itself!_

* * *

_Sipuli: "I know I said this chapter would be different, but it is not. In a kind of way… It's not that different that it should have been hyped in the last chapter."_

_Da: "We wrote already three chapters, but we cancelled two of them. They didn't fit."_

_maestro: "This is not the one chapter we did not cancel, this is a whole different story."_

_Lucius: "Blaah blaah."_

_Sipuli: "But, this one is short. Yep. Very short! But it won't become a habit!"_

_Da: -blink blink-_

* * *

7. **Impatient & Gruesome**

"Can't you heal him faster?"

"Excuse me, mr. Impatient And Gruesome, remember that even if I was inside his body, this process would be difficult and take weeks, but now when even he's not inside his body, this process is almost impossible."

"We're getting delayed! Unless you wake _it_ up during the first night of Lisha, _it _will be in parts again! You can't wake _it_ up in Teshuana, and all the other female months already went! And you can't hold _it_ inside you forever! _It _already shows signs of wakening and if _it_ comes to _its_ senses inside your head, _it_ will destroy you – and that would destroy _me_!"

"And that would destroy him."

"Naw, he's not that keen on us, Whitney."

"Whitney! Fine then. You see it wouldn't destroy him as a personal way, it's just that if we left his body and mind, he'd curve up inside, he'd crumble."

"Why in hell?"

"Because we are pieces of him. You would die if your heart was taken out –"

"I have no heart."

"- anyway, he would. Do not give your lip to me!"

"Fine. Guess I'll need to trust you… But hurry up! I don't wanna go through the same _it_-process again, and we can't cause way back then we had a full year and only one person to put asleep – and no press! I want to get rid of my dues!"

"I will do everything I can to make him heal faster."

"Why can't we go back to his head?"

"I've told you already! He's not in his head! If you went to his head now, his body would turn into your body, and that would break it as it's in such a fragile state. And if it didn't break it, it could alter it and cause mutations et cetera."

"But we need his body! Seriously, what the hell did he think when he blew himself up!"

"Please be quiet and let me handle this. Your moaning only wastes time. Patience!"

"Fuck your patience… _It_ must be done!"

"_It_ will be done."

* * *

_Sipuli: "This is suspense after all..."_

_Lucius: "Everyone who wants to know what is going says 'aye' and gives me a cashew nut."_


	8. Spots & Lines

_The characters are products of Naughty Dog, SONY. Blaah blaah._

_**Afeenaninganing**, I have nothing against killing characters, but it's only if they are then brought alive! Otherwise killing sucks…_

**_Amathist Fwirrel_**_, thanks for the-evil-swell-up-and-die-nut! _

_**LunarSquirrel**, it's always a good thing when people like although the don't understand. –smile- And a lot better if squirrel does so!_

_**Tank**, I'd have no problemos to have all cashew nuts possible to have. –blink blink-_

_**Meowen** (and Muse), I understand your fear! And I actually laughed at that over-characterized Pecker… I'm surprised that I update this fast! –smile-_

_**extreme super nova**, thanks for shoving the nut down my throat!_

_**jaklover123**, great that you liked! I believe that your confusion will be answered later… -blink blink-_

_Thank you all for this review tidal wave! Means a lot for me. (does somebody want to invent me a synonym for this same sentence?...)_

* * *

_Lucius: "I am rich! I am rich!"_

_Sipuli: "If I was chipmunk, nananananana-nananananananana-naa, see I had the almonds in the world, if I was chipmunk boy…"_

_Lucius: "I'm rich! Look at this! I can lay on my cashews! I can swim in them!"_

_Da: "Eeh, you have three cashew nuts."_

_maestro: "Has anyone told you that your 'swimming' in three cashew nuts looks pretty odd and sad?"_

_Lucius: "Spoilsports! You're just envious when I have something you do not! Love and kisses for everyone who donated me a nut! Thank you!"_

* * *

8. **Spots & Lines**

The darkness.

* * *

The darkness.

Little green and red lines flying across his view.

Little blue and purple spots being chased by the lines, almost screaming.

A sheer line of light blinded his eyes.

Not yet.

* * *

The darkness.

Little blue and purple spots flying across his view.

Little green and red lines playing with the spots, almost giggling.

A sheer line of light blinded his eyes.

Not yet.

* * *

The darkness.

The spots and lines dancing together.

A floodlight placed inside his eyeball.

A needle in his head.

Disturbing noises. Ache

Not yet.

* * *

The darkness.

The spots and lines making love to each other, filling his head with light.

Light dim enough to be seen.

A floodlight inches from his nose.

Disturbing noises.

Almost.

* * *

The voice. Dragging him from the darkness.

A voice he was able to rely to.

A voice that could betray him.

A voice that slowly turned the dim light into an ocean of stars.

A voice that could let him down.

A voice that could be confided.

A voice he could trust in.

A voice he could trust not.

Not yet.

* * *

The darkness.

The blue and purple spots being chased by the red and green lines, singing happy songs.

Disturbing noise.

The ocean of stars.

The voice he could and could not trust.

He decides to let go.

Now.

* * *

"Jak!" the voice yelled, making his ears screech. The voice came closer, "Jak, are you there?"

I am. Am I?

"Jak? Mar?"

Stop it. It hurts. My ears. My head.

The voice sighed. Sounding like a storm hitting one's eardrum.

"I so hoped you'd be there now…" the voice whispered and quivered a bit.

_I am!_ "…"

"JAK! Did you try to say something?"

Don't shout! Hurts! Stop! "…"

"You are there! Please say that you are!"

I am here. Don't speak so loudly. My ears, my head. Hurts.

"You went away?"

No, I'm here!

"Well… It's great that you have recovered a little, at least… Or then it's just my wishful thinking", again the voice sighed, "please come back."

I'm here already! "…"

"You moved. You surely moved your eyelids, a little! You did! Didn't you?"

I don't know. Did I? I'm here! Believe me and Metal Head in hell be quiet!

The voice came closer and he could feel the breathing of the voice on the side of his face. Then something took his hand and held it.

"If you are there now… I need to say that I'm sorry for all the pain I've ever put you through, both mentally and physically. I was never there to watch your back and the missions I gave you never were from a fair caliber", the voice whispered, "maybe this is selfish, maybe I do this only to relieve myself. But I'd really like you to know that you mean a lot for me, Jak, you are my friend."

"…"

"You are there. Aren't you", the voice rose up a kind glow in it, "do not hurry. You have time as much as you want to have, but… Please try to stay there now. Don't drift away anymore."

"Ihmhim." _I'm here!_

"Jak! Oh my Mar!"

"Hds."

"Oh my Mar, you can speak again!"

"Ihhds!" _It hurts!_

"Can you open your eyes, Jak? Can you?"

"Ohah! Mmihs!" _Stop that! My ears!_

"Okay, take it slow. Don't hurry!" the voice whispered again, "don't let me push you. I'm just too excited. Don't hurry."

Don't hurry? He wanted the spots and needles and stars out of his head now!

"Ahwn!" The ocean was huge. He had never thought he'd see so much of light ever in his life. Light. Light. Light. Who replaced his eyeballs with flashlights? Who stuck a match into his pupil? Hurts. Keep the eyes open, keep the eyes open…

"Jak!" the voice materialized. A soothing shadow in the flood of white, "you see me?"

"Ohn!"

"Jak, thank Krew you're alive!"

"Ohn?"

"Was that a question?"

"Huhhahhend."

"I'm sorry, Jak, I can't understand you, yet", the shadow apologised, "just take it in peace, right! …And you should blink."

The shadow started moving away. Jak gathered all his energy and uttered a sharp voice: "no!"

"What?" the shadow stopped and came back.

"Eyh."

"Eh?" although the patient didn't see it, the shadow was thinking desperately, "eyh? Ehm…"

"Sheyh!"

"Say?"

"Sh-d-ey."

"Stay?"

"Ys!"

"You want me to stay here?"

"Ys!"

"Okay, I'll stay in the room."

"Nn!"

"No?"

"Sheyh!"

"Stay… here?"

"Eesh."

"Hmm…" the shadow wanted to ask why. Why the patient wanted him to stay there, bend over him, on his bed? That was kind of hilarious. He should go and get Daxter, here! His buddy was alive! Or, alive he had been all the time, but only now he showed that he had still senses…

"Eesh?"

"Yes?"

"Hl-l-l-eesh?"

"Please?"

"Ys. Sheyh."

The desperate tone almost made the shadow twitch. How fragile did the younger faery look now? He had terribly lost weight, but what else could you expect when you were fed via hoses?

"Ohn", he knew his stubborn lips and cold tongue could not say it, but he couldn't help but try, "hbhoehmeeh." _Protect me._

The shadow didn't have slightest idea of what the patient was saying. He just frowned and said,

"yes". Whatever it would be.

"Hanh yhuu."

"You're welcome", the shadow rose his other hand and closed the patient's eyelids.

* * *

It wasn't bright anymore. His eyes didn't hurt. He knew he had them open, but there was nothing he could see. A slight white shadow on something told him he wasn't blind. He heard breathing. Was it from this room?

"Ohn?"

The breathing had a break in it, but then it continued.

"Ohn?"

The voice muttered something and continued breathing.

"Ohn?"

"What? Jak?" the voice bounced to his side, again grabbing his hand.

"Ohn?"

"I'm here. It's night."

"Hhudh – hahbbhend?"

"Hmm… What happened?", the voice, Torn, said, "you collided with a wall."

The silence of the patient begged him to continue.

"You hit the paving. You lost your conscience."

"…"

"You fell in coma."

"Omuh?"

"Yes. You were in coma. You are now in Tess and Daxter's house, the one built behind the Ottsel, remember?"

"Uhm."

"You're there. This is your room, but it's not been decorated, yet. As you… were in coma."

"Ahm – aih – ou – heyh?"

"Are you okay?"

"Uhm."

Torn stayed silent. "We don't know. You hit the road badly. You broke your sacrum, among the others. We don't know are you okay."

Jak uttered a whimper.

"Aihm shoohhee!"

"That's fine, that's fine", the hand stroke his face, "in peace now."

* * *

His tongue had literally warmed up. Jak could even move his lips a little. So, talking wasn't as hard as it was before. He could even form some solid consonants.

"Whad dime id is?"

Torn yawned sitting on the chair, "four o'clock in the morning."

"How nuh-ees."

Torn cracked up: "Nuh-ees? Sorry… That was just so funny."

Jak didn't mind. Whatever made Torn began his dark laugh was worth it.

"Whad day is id?"

"The third of Tonara. No, that was yesterday. The fourth of Tonara."

Tonara was the seventh month in Haven's calendar, the first of summer. The year started with the first winter month Mar, then moved to Raphael until it was time for Orr. The spring months were Xjyang, Nockir and Mossa. Then Tonara, Lisha and Flutus. The year ended with the fall months, Lo, Teshuana and Havenikum. The months were said to be named after the old rulers of the city, and no-one cared that there never had been any Flutus, Nockir, Teshuana nor Havenikum in the whole city! Havenikam and Fooduz were quite common male names, which caused the authorities to explain the name lack by the varying through the years. The months system was build around female faerys' season cycle: in the first month of the season a new womb began to grow. The middle months of the season was the time of fertility, when the womb was fully grown and ready to take in the seed. Thus, all the middle months were given female rulers' names – or at least Nockir and Teshuana were believed to be female names. Xjyang was actually a rare female given name, which didn't make sense in the calendar. The authorities again had an answer: the places of Nockir and Xjyang just had changed. Well well… In the last month of season, the womb slowly or swiftly, it was all personal, started disengaging itself, and then it came out via varying amounts of blood. During this disengaging time female faeries usually suffered from wild hormone changes which caused them to be either sad, outrageous, hysterical or then totally varying.

Jak tried to remember: "Wash nod id Mosshuh when I –"

"Yes. The tenth of Mossa", Torn said, "when you decided to be surprisingly stupid."

Now Jak did mind about it! Fine, he had been stupid. But Torn didn't need to say it to his face.

"But I had been too harsh for you", Torn continued, "and so was Keira. Maybe you didn't handle the situations in the best way you could have, but that's not an excuse for hurting someone as neither did she."

"Pleash forhiv me."

"Of course, I forgive you! And you should not beg my forgiveness… It wasn't really any of my business in a sorta way..." Torn rose and came at the bunk, "but never think of doing that again, understood?"

"I won't do dat again", Jak promised, "even if I could!" he felt the tears in his eyes, and this time he couldn't blame the oncoming air, "nod ahain!"

"What?" asked Torn and stroke the patient's cheek with his finger.

"I don'd wanna cry all de dime."

"Let's make sure you don't have lots of reasons for it in the future."

"Id's nod de fuduoosh proplem, id's my proplem!"

"Yeah, and for sure we'll gonna make something for your problem", Torn said, "you've saved us all. You built Haven. _And_ you have friends. Think about Daxter, you've got a brother. You've got me and Tess. You've got Sig – and Rayn, too! You've got Jinx, Onin and Pecker – and Ashelin! And you've got Keira."

"She hades me!"

"True, but believe it or not, even she was worried when you had crashed. She even came to see you twice and made you potions."

"Dad's nod drue!"

"It is", the redhead said smiling, "she lives one storey up from here. And what are we friends for? We are to keep your back even if you didn't keep ours. And I must say that you were the one who watched my six so I owe you."

"My doe jusd moved!"

"What?"

"I can move my doe! Not only one! Look, my does are movin'! Look, I can feel my does!"

"I guess that's a good thing", Torn said and smiled at the faery who moved his toes on cloud nine, "I guess you will be okay in time. It's toes were it starts."

"And fingers, doo! Look!"

"Ha ha! Great! Wait til Daxter sees that. He has been so worried about you, but as he needs to keep the business rolling he took my oath for this."

"Oh my Medal Head, have I missed Sig's wedding?" Jak asked suddenly.

"No, in the next month."

"Fine. Well… When do you dink I could sdelardle… Sdard… Drying to walk?"

"Let's say that when you can move both your knees and your tongue properly, not today."

"Bud I want do!"

"Soldier, rest, now!"

"Bud…"

"Sleep."

"You can'd dell me do sleep!"

"For sure I can!"

"We'll see dat!"

"Yes we'll do!"

"I slepd for a month, you can'd exhect me do feel snoozy!

"And I _haven't_ slept well for a month so now the eyes – closed. Period!"

"I won'd!" suddenly a wave of pain stroke his head and he closed his eyes with a whimper.

"What?"

"De voisesh came pack", Jak muttered, "Lite has clelee made a condhact wid you."

"Sleep your migraine away."

"Hehee, how nuh-ees."

"Do I still need to stay?"

"Yesh."

"Fine", Torn sat back to the chair, "well, so… We're now in Casa de Ottsel, this is the second floor. Your room as I said. Keira lives above you, she has promised to give you press and media teaching without outrageous fits. Well well… And Tess has ordered us suits for the wedding. And… What else? Daxter and Tess live on that floor, too, as does Onin when she gets back. I live in this floor with Jinx… Oh well, as you can guess the press has been crazy about you, and Alorah has sent her condolences and what else, well Daxess and Tester are still doing fine and Jinx and Onin are still on the ruins and..."

Jak floated away, to a nice, comfortable sleep. A sleep with dreams. A sleep he knew wouldn't last forever.

* * *

_maestro: "I apologise for the long month-explanation in the middle of all the way too emotional trash."_

_Da: "Nuh-ees."_

_Sipuli: "What should we say here?"_

_Lucius: "I know, I know!"_

_maestro: "Not again…"_

_Lucius: "Everyone who wants to read the next chapter needs to give me two – that's right folks – two cashew nuts!"_

_Da: "I didn't know cashew nuts can rose that swiftly into one's head."_

_maestro: "It is not the nuts, it is urane."_

_Sipuli: "Am I the only one who thinks that the word 'urane' would be kinda classy ending for a chapter?"_

_maestro: "Some of you might have noticed a small change in the name of the story…"_

_Da: "We're open to hear whatever you want to say about it, thanks!"_


	9. He Does & She Does

_Jak, Daxter, Keira, Torn, Rayn, Sig, Razer, Baron Praxis, Ashelin, lots of others and the world are products of Naughty Dog, SONY. _

_**LunarSquirrel**, yep, I know, too! Unfortunately they are also expensive goodies… -cries for an hour-_

_**Afeenaninganing**, ha ha well I guess Jak and Keira could do it even without the fertility month thing. –blink blink- You see, at the first month there's no need for safety. –blink blink- Okay, perhaps I'll stop this talking of safe sex… But trust me, you'll get some sort of JakKeira someday, somehow. This is a promise! _

_**Meowen**, kiitos kiitos, I wanted to rename the months, as our months are named after Roman caesars and I guess it would be a bit absurd to put them into Haven. But I still decided to stay with our days, as it had been too complicated to change their names… -smile- Lazy! Who? Me!_

_Thank you all!_

* * *

_Lucius: "…We know all the famous, we know who is which, and who's a bitch, we go to all the clubs, and we are very RICH! I am rich! I'm rich! I'm wealthy, glamorous, entire and oh so humble! Yummy! Trendy discotheque…"_

_Da: "Where's the one singing Pay TV?"_

_Sipuli: "That bag. Somebody gave us a sack of almonds."_

_Da: "Oh."_

_maestro: "Ommm I do not hear that chipmunk voice ommm I hear nothing ommm…" _

* * *

9.** He Does & She Does**

The whole new Mar was the pet of the press. Smiling cutely, a bit shy, humble and humorous, and talking in just the right words. The Mar fanclubs grew bigger and bigger, and as the heir told laughing, he was having problems trying to situate the flowers, fluffy toys and underwear into his room. After that unfortunate incident in that alley – you remember? – he had become more open than he had never been before. Blaah blaah blaah, Praxis is bad, Alorah is good, I mean that, the city is beautiful, well, it's not easy to break an old habit but believe me I won't do it again, I'm only 22 and I know I'm expected to be wise and intellectual, like, but sometimes you just wanna let go, I'm sorry about it, really, oh a new zoomer has been given, but think about the casualties I could have maybe caused for the people of the city, I learned a lot from it, yes I'm sorry, hmmm, Alorah's a nice girl – no no we have nothing going on, she has a stable hand to hold the sceptre, she really knows her business, yes, no not those business, oh that thing, I noticed it but you know I don't care about lies written about me, Praxis is eeeviiilll, his daughter is in Spargus, yes, she is the regent there now, yep, regent not pregnant, this kind of questions will be answered when the time is right, yep, blaah blaah, love you all, blaah blaah…

"How did it go?" the heir asked from Keira on their way home. She had become his media assistant.

"Well. You've learned."

"Thanks, it's all because of you."

"I know."

"That went very well indeed, in my opinion", Light said in an accepting tone.

Thank you! Jak thought. Light had been angry and preached a lot, whilst Dark had been moody and sulked. Now Light was his normal self, but Dark continued to sulk, which actually eased Jak's being.

"I still don't see why you stole a zoomer and drove it at a wall", the driver said and stroke a green lock away from her view, "you just seem to have a natural need to break the rules."

"I just felt so bad."

"Don't try to fault me on that", Keira threw Jak a chilly look, "I won't carry your blame."

"I'm not blaming you."

"Good."

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"In a kind of way. The dresses have not arrived."

"But otherwise?"

"No."

"…"

"Your speech will go fine."

"Thanks."

* * *

"Eeeh, Tess or Keira, do you happen to know where my tie is?"

"Torn!" a female ottsel shrieked, "it's on the kitchen table!"

"I can't know that!"

"I've now told it to you three times! Daxy! Gasp… Could someone call my sugarplum here?"

"Hey Jak! Is Daxter there?"

"He is."

"Daxter, we need you!"

"I'm coming!"

"Hurry up!" Tess screamed.

"A horrible mess", Keira moaned while coming from a toilet, "if these clothes had arrived yesterday like they were supposed to, but no! We deliver them in the last possible moment!"

"DAXTER!"

"I'm coming, honey! The heir had problems with lacing his backing", Daxter jumped down a few stairs and then bounced on a table, "thank you sweetheart, ya sooo lovely!"

"You're welcome, Dax", Tess chirped, "now try these on!" he gave Daxter an ottsel-sized black suit with a light green bowtie, "you have a tail hole this time."

"Keira, could you button my cuffs?"

"Bring your buttons here, Torn!"

"My shoes are too small!" Jak moaned while coming down the stairs, "and where is my tie?"

"Tie is on the kitchen table", Keira shrieked, "and for the shoes, no matter! Have you got linens?"

"Yes."

"Well take them off! With a classy pair of shoes, you wear socks, not linens."

"Okay, but they're still too small!"

"You'll just need to work it!"

"I can barely walk and with my back -"

"Shut up, cry baby, it's not our fault that your sacrum is in two pieces!"

Jak sighed and went to get his light green tie. There was no way he would put his feet into those horrible things called socks…

"It fits perfectly!" Daxter yelled and bounced around in his suit, "thanks honey, you sure as shooting have the pulse in these businesses."

"I've got pulse on other things, too", Tess's voice seeped lust.

"O baby!"

"But not now!" Tess chirped, "only after the party's over! You see, the after party… Now, Keira?"

"What Tess?"

"Could you help me with my dress?"

"Of course I can, could you zip up mine, please?"

"Yeah, come here, honey."

The girls got themselves into pale green dresses. Tess's ottsel-sized hem was down to the ground but Keira's dress ended a little above her knees. Both outfits were completed with black scarf's: for Tess around her waist and for Keira classily floating behind her back and on her arms.

"Torn, can you…?"

"Yep", the redhead took Jak's tie and tied it on his neck, "there you go!"

"Boys, you need flowers. Keira could you?"

Keira put a big rose-like flower, its perianth the exact same colours as the girls' dresses, in Jak's and Torn's front pocket, and then gave Daxter a small bud: "remember, no touching! Accusanté lasts very well, for days, but it doesn't like to be touched and starts to drop it's petals if you poke it."

"Torn? Could you help me down?" Tess chirped and Torn lift her to the floor, "no bouncing in this dress."

"Are we ready?" Jak asked.

"Shoes being wiped?"

Nodding.

"Flowers, yes… Ties? Yes… Faces washed?"

Nodding.

"Shaved?"

Nodding – even Daxter had had his facial hair trimmed a little.

"Hair?"

Nodding – Jak had forced Torn to come with him to Uzla's, to take new, smaller braids. Keira's hair was combed back and stuck with gel so that it went slickly to her back, and. Jak had his newly-blonde hair on two French-braids that opened in the back of his neck (French was surmised to be an old heroin in Spargus)…

"I guess we are ready to go", Tess chirped, "did you pack all the stuff in the Hell Cat yesterday like I told you?"

"Yep", Torn said, "and in Sig's flyer, too. My spine is soon worse than Jak's..."

"Let's hurry! We've got only six hours until the ceremony and you guys need to make sure Sig is okay while we girls decorate the temple a little! Hurry up!"

* * *

Rayn looked amazingly beautiful in her red dress and her hair was on an extremely complex chignon with little braids going here and there mixing with jewel filaments and miniature chains, accompanied with accusanté flowers and of course a white veil going down her back. The colour of brides had been bright red from the ancient times, it was said to mean the blood the bride was ready to bleed for his husband, the passion between them, the power of love as for red eco and other things. In Praxis's time no temple weddings were held, but Alorah had opened it again for nuptials.

Sig was a little confused and misplaced in his white suit, which made him look even more gigantic than he was already. Luckily he was so amazed of his bride, that all the nervousness was wiped away.

The bridesmaids were in skimpy black minidresses, symbolizing the pleasures and temptations the husband was willing to leave for his bride. Jak and Torn tried hard not to stare them, and Daxter was pissed off as Sig blocked his view.

The priest held a speech, and then Jak stepped forward and gave the platinum ring to Sig, who put it in Rayn's ring finger. Then one of Rayn's bridesmaids gave her a platinum ring, just like the one given by Sig except that this was a lot bigger. Rayn put it in Sig's ring finger.

"Sig, the son of Vhana, do you want to keep this ring in your finger to symbolize your never-ending love for the woman next to you now? Do you want to show her love in joy and sorrow, in life and death?"

"I do", the voice of Sig was loud and clear, coming out straight from his heart.

"Rayn, the daughter of Krew, do you want to keep this ring in your finger to symbolize your never-ending love for the man next to you now? Do you want to show him love in joy and sorrow, in life and death?"

"I do", Rayn said smiling as wide as her cheeks let her to.

"I now declare you as spouses", the priest said, "you may now kiss your wife."

Sig pulled Rayn into a long and passionate kiss and the folk started clapping their hands. The pair slowly walked the zigzag path through the temple and then out of the door while Tess and Keira and some Rayn's friends threw petals on them.

"I can hardly believe this", Daxter whispered, trying desperately to get a naw-kinda tone into his voice, fighting against a ludicrous smile.

* * *

Jak had held his speech for Sig, and now he felt lighter than a feather. He had never been good at speaking, but speaking to a big crowd, well, that was a mission impossible. Just that now he had completed it. And the crowd had really liked it, including Sig who had laughed his newly-married ass off.

"Thanks for helping me write that", he blurted to Torn and Keira who were waiting him by the fare table, "I feel so relieved now."

"It went well", Torn congratulated and gave him a glass of champagne.

"How is this supposed to be drunk?" Jak whispered to Keira, who manducated a little piece of roasted fungus.

"Just keep it in your hand and sometimes let your lips touch it", she explained after swallowing, "the trick is not to drink it at all."

"Isn't that Razer?" Torn asked and pointed at the crowd.

"Yeah", Keira said, "let's go!"

Jak couldn't feel envy nettling him a little, as his brain had chance to analyze the tone of Keira's voice. Of course he didn't show it and let Torn and Keira pull him though folks in the yard of the temple.

"Razer!" Keira greeted, "how nice to see you again!"

"Keira, and Torn and Mar!" the black-haired hunk said in a delighted tone as the three approached, "nice to see you!" He gave Keira a cheek kiss in a Kras City-manner, "may I introduce you my long-term girlfriend, Suvan?" he introduced a short but amazingly beautiful girl with huge eyes and extremely long lashes.

"Nice to meet you! I've heard of you all!" she said smiling and shook hands with the three. Jak secretly watched how Keira would handle the situation, but she was all smile.

"Nice to meet you, too!" she answered, "can we expect another couple to be married soon?" she joked.

Suvan giggled, "well, I've tried to give Raz little hints, but well… men…" she rolled her resplendent eyes.

"I know!" Keira laughed and answered Jak's wondering look with a self-confident glance: _You know nothing about me._

"Well, how's it going in Kras?" Torn asked politely.

"Well well, new areas have been built", Razer explained, "we live together on a new area in south, it's built on a warm sea current so we have a free floor heating!"

Torn and Jak laughed, and the latter one asked: "how about the driving?"

"Oh you should see Seahorse Circuit!" the racer told enthusiastically, "it's built mostly underwater, it's a totally amazing track!"

"I shall come try it someday!" Jak promised.

"Well, not too soon. Your bad habit to collide with objects…" Torn hinted.

"Torn! Just because I've once blown a zoomer up, doesn't mean that I can't race a car", Jak moaned, "Razer, isn't it so that you ain't a driver until you've blown yourself up?"

"Exactly!" Razer lauged, "I've been hospitalized thrice, Suvan about hates my sport!"

"Raz!" she interrupted, "I admire your fire and adore your skills, and I think you're absolutely hot in your driving suit, but in my opinion breaking a collarbone ain't sexy at all."

Keira giggled: "our hero here just broke his sacrum two months ago."

"Ouch", Suvan twitched, "Raz has also broken it once. It takes time to recover fully!"

"We both had luck!" 'Raz' kind of congratulated Jak, "one of my greatest opponents hit a palisade at Seashell Circuit last Orr, and he didn't recover from it."

"You both came!" Rayn suddenly appeared next to them in her bright red every-girl's-dream, "how nice to see you!"

"Yep, couldn't miss this!" Razer laughed and gave his old friend a cheek kiss, "hi, Sig!"

"Good to see ya Razer, again", the big marauder in a white suit said and shook hands, "who is this birdie here?"

"I'm Suvan, daughter of Pazziocone", she gave Sig a cheek kiss.

"She's the greatest prize I've ever won in my life", Razer explained.

"Raz!" Rayn exclaimed, "you're getting married! Wow, bro, I'm amazed!"

"Rayn!" Razer laughed, "we've just moved into same house –"

"Half a year ago", Suvan said innocently and stared at the sky.

"Yep, Raz, in my opinion…"

"Go, go!" Keira whispered and poked Torn and Jak in motion, leaving the two couples confab together, "weren't they cute?" she asked after they had got lost in the crowd.

"Yeah, seems like most of our acquaintances have began to tie knots", Torn pointed out, "perhaps I should start to seek some action, too…"

"Is it this atmosphere that gets into you?" Keira teased, "since when have you wanted to go out for a date? You've been just so happy with Ottsel's Thursdays…"

"Okay, I guess I'm not romantic that way. But I wouldn't want to be alone whole my life."

And that moment made Jak feel unbelievably bad. Okay, Torn and Ashelin had split before Jak had arrived, but if he hadn't taken Ashelin with him, maybe they might have ended up together… Ashelin still had feelings for Torn, and Torn had feelings for her, perhaps they could have ended up with enough emotion to start to feel lovers again, or something.

"You're not alone", Keira said ad hugged the redheaded faery, "you've got us."

"I know sweetheart!" Torn joked and poked Keira's shoulder with his finger.

"Don't go poking me!" she poked back.

"How come? Poke."

"Okay, now let's stop! Otherwise I'll end up my wine across the ground!"

They laughed and suddenly the same bony woman with dark brown hair rushed at them: "Finally I caught you! Now, could you please give me a tiny interview about the newly-wed couple? Maybe a tiny photo, too?" she tilted her head at the man with a camera next to him.

"Of course we can!" Keira agreed and motioned for a waiter who came and took their wine glasses, "so, we're open for you, missus Lera, wasn't it?"

"Missus Lera, yes", the bony woman smiled benevolently, "you are the leader of one of the biggest garages in the town, miss Keira, aren't you?"

"Yes, Garage Sandover. Nice to hear you know me", Keira smiled back.

"Okay, so how did you get to know the couple –"

"Well, it was me", Jak explained, "it was during the time Baron still existed. I worked for Torn –", he pointed at him, "and I ended up working with Sig."

"We met Rayn when we went to Kras City –" Torn explained, "by that time Sig was a family friend of ours."

"Do you consider you three as a family?"

"Well of course", Keira giggled, "these two are like brothers to me."

"Oh, I see, what would you wish for the couple?"

"We wish them the best, but do they really need our wishes?" Keira declared, "look at them, they're such a perfect couple. They're not lovebirds, I'd say they are at least loveostriches. Are there bigger birds?" she asked from the guys next to her.

"Ha ha, I don't think so", Jak continued, "but yes, all good to them!"

"They belong together", Torn nodded.

"Thanks for this", missus Lera bobbed, "now, a pic, please."

For Jak's surprise Keira wrapped her right arm round his waist and pulled him close while the left arm did the same for Torn. He settled his left arm behind her back where it met Torn's right arm. They all smiled at the camera, Keira her wide and white pepsodent-smile which could have made every Miss Haven jealous, Jak his shy smirk and Torn his wry smile. The camera man snapped a few photos and then thanked. Missus Lera bobbed and disappeared into the crowd. Keira freed herself and noticed someone else in the crowd: "Jak, look, there's Alorah! She was looking for you, go talk to her!"

"What, Alorah?"

"Yes, there, do you see?"

Jak saw the light red curls in the folk accompanied with a light blue dress and suddenly he felt nervous again.

"Go ahead!" Keira gave him another poke and he started walking.

"There's Bruza!" Torn pointed somewhere, "one of my old soldiers who gave me information of KGs. Excuse me."

"Go ahead, you too!" Keira let Torn disappear into the crowd. She needed to find somebody. She started slowly erring around in the folks, but suddenly found herself in front of a table full of champagne glasses. _Only one._ She slowly stretched out her hand, and took the glass. With one swift motion the glass was again on the table, this time empty. _Another one._

"No", she whispered, took a glass and continued her parading with the glass in her hand. _The trick is not to drink it at all._

* * *

"Good night, sleep tight, boys!" Keira hollered from the upper floor. The ottsels were still at the party, but the three had decided to get back home. Jak had his back and Keira had confessed to Torn that the call of the champagne grew bigger by an hour, and the yawning redhead had nothing against the return.

"Night night!" Torn yelled back.

"Same to you!" Jak answered and closed his door. His door. His room. He let his eyes wander. He had a table, he had an armchair, he had a bed, had even a wardrobe. And a mirror. Jak freed himself from the suit and the button-down and smirked at his mirror image while freeing himself off the back support. He had lost lots of mass during his long sleep, he should start going to gym again, now when there actually was a gym next to Jinx's now-empty room. He put on a worn out T-shirt and jumped into his bunk. Tess had wanted to buy him a new bed, as the bunk he had was only bought as the coma-Jak needed a place to lay on. But Jak liked bunks. Two person beds were too big for one faery, he thought. His back was sore from all the standing and sitting during the day, the laying position was a welcome surprise. Sleep peacefully, young boy, may the dreams take you over…

"Wait a second!" he jumped up, "what are you guys doing in my head?"

"Singing you a lullaby!" Dark snorted, "surely you ain't very sharp today."

Why do you sing me a lullaby?

"What are lullabies for?"

"The faster you fall asleep", Light explained, "the more your back has time to heal itself."

"You should thank us."

Well, thank you. Jak wrapped himself in his coverlet. I appreciate that.

And as Light's bright voice mixed with Dark's rugged one, Jak relaxed and drifted away to fields of dreams.

* * *

_Sipuli: "Is it just me, or have two chapters in a row ended with Jak falling asleep? I'd still prefer the word 'urane'"_

_maestro: "Sorry, Sipuli, but dream on."_

_Da: "Was it just me, or did someone just explode?"_

_Sipuli: "Don't open that sack, detonated chipmunk is not a beautiful sight."_

_Da: "Speaking off sacks…"_

_maestro: "Hss! Not yet!"_


	10. Tibia & Fibula

_Are products of Naughty Dog, SONY. _

_**Afeenaninganing**, well, lullaby is always a lullaby, but it's its intention that gives it an excuse to happen. I'm not sure did I understand that sentence itself… Not maybe the verb 'to sack'. more the noun._

_**Meowen**, after you brought Razer up, I got a notion I HAD to put him in someway, otherwise it had left him all open and that disturbed me. I usually don't like OCs, but I brought Suvan up to kind of close Razer's chapter in my story. A Razer oneoff. I guess. –smile- Of course he might appear again, but at this point I guess not. Actually, what about if Suvan… Okay, I quit now. No spoiling… -smilesmile- Oops, is it ebony and not black? Heehee. Hmm… He's coloured it. –smilesmilesmile- I enjoyed your review, it was again flattering but this time also very psychedelic. –smilesmilesmilesmile- -cheeks hurt-_

_**jaklover123**, as I said to Afeenaninganing, it's the intention. Have the last chapters confused you? If yes, they've done their job! So don't blame yourself in any way, my aim was a slightly intriguing confusion… Did I succeed in someway?_

_Thank you thank you thank you!_

* * *

_Lucius: "I'm starving!"_

_maestro: "It is not my fault that you already ate all the nuts."_

_Da: "Somebody tell me, why was he reborn?"_

_Sipuli: "Because even if our nutcase here was dead, he'd be reborn every week again."_

_Da: "Nice, wished I could, too."_

_maestro: "You can."_

_Da: "What? No way… I've never –"_

_Sipuli: "Actually you have. Remember the time when you left your hair straightener on and it burned your wardrobe? First you died to scalds and then you committed a shinjuu over your precious glitter pants."_

_Da: "Don't remind me about it! I had forgotten about it completely…"_

_maestro: "Cute stuff. Not. Now could we move to the chapter?"_

* * *

10.** Tibia & Fibula**

"Finally!" Dark hissed and bounced up. He looked at his mirror image. Yep, Jak really would need to start working out – and damn he hated the braids…

"Do not open them!" a sharp voice snapped in his head.

I'm not opening them, Whitney!

"You are", Light continued, "just look at them."

Dark looked at the mirror again, and yes, his hair was slowly disengaging itself from the French braids. He concentrated on it for a moment and it stopped.

Happy now? he thought.

"Thank you."

We even had to sing a lullaby! I feel dishonoured… I'll never do that again!

"Stop moaning, could you? Without your little diddlydoo he'd still be awake. Now hurry!"

How much do we have time?

"It's touch and go whether we make it or not…"

Dark opened slowly the door. A good door, don't screech, how nice. He looked around and then rushed silently the stairs up using all four limbs.

"Did you know that you actually are built to walk with two legs, hint hint?"

He ignored and peeked around a corner. The front door was too risky choice, so he had to use the garden in the highest floor. He tiptoed (and tipfingered) to the wooden slide doors that separated the garden from the corridor. He pushed one of the doors aside and – oops! - saw a green-haired girl in the garden. Dark almost moaned for the sight of her back in a see-through negligee… She started turning her head, and Dark swiftly withdrew behind a wall although he had wanted to see the front. Shit… he thought.

* * *

Keira had soaked in a bathtub, washing off all the gel in her hair and then decided to go to 'her' garden. She loved it: little trees, brushes, lots of flowers and a miniature lake in the middle of everything accompanied with a tiny cascade.

Did I hear something?

She looked around. Nothing.

Wait a second… In my opinion I closed the door… Silly me, I forgot it open.

* * *

"Dark, run", Light advised, "remember that three walls are formed of slide doors."

"Okay okay, Whitney!" Dark turned quickly invisible and dashed pass the open door, got a very blurry image of the place where Keira's bras should have been, turned from another corner, kicked another door open, making she shout "hey what –", kicked its frame and flew through the air with a flip landing on his tummy on the other side of the ridge roof surrounding the green area. He turned visible and hung from the rooftop with his claws.

"Maybe it's the wind", Keira thought aloud glowering, "I must point this out for Daxter."

* * *

"Nice jump", Light congratulated his fellow, "but we could reduce the volume of 'the thump' next time."

Thanks. Dark thought. Damn I hate underwear!

"I think underwear is a quite modest piece of clothing."

Perhaps, Whitney, but I've got briefs up my ass now!

"Imagine that they are thongs", Dark could sense Light shrugging, "can you go down now, mister Morose And Sinister?"

Yeah. Dark climbed down grasping with his claws at the concrete wall, his toes working individually to find the best holes and dents. He dropped down behind the Case de Ottsel and hurt stroke his back.

"Hell!" he snarled, "why does my back hurt if his back is in pieces?"

"It's bio-atomic, kind of psychosomatic."

"Thanks a lot, I understood nothing", Dark snarled again and straightened his drawers, "any advice? Which route do I choose?"

"Straight from here to the city wall. We'll need to hurry."

The cimmerian creature galloped through the benighted Haven City and turned invisible as a group of drunken men appeared from an backstreet.

"You cannot keep yourself concealed all the time!" Light remarked, "find an alley!"

Trying to, Dark thought and turned to the first one he saw, turning back to visible again. Luckily it took to a narrow corridor which went around the house. He climbed over a fence made of steel netting and again his back hurt when he dropped down. He ran up a ladder to the roof of the next building and kept running on the rooftops on a four wheel drive until the buildings ended and the city wall started.

"Now it's your turn."

"I'll take on", Light promised, "now run towards it and jump and make room."

Dark got down to business and as he was halfway over the wall he changed into a phosphorescent angel which dived over the edge almost faster than speed of light. Yet he stopped his time freeze ability as soon as he knew no one could see him anymore.

"It could be useful if you could freeze time more often", Dark pointed out while getting cozy in one's head, "did you know that it's all shimmery here?"

It is my mind. Light thought and let one of his tentacles sweep the water. And by the way, it is not that I freeze time, I only boost my own speed. Time is a comparative variable.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Can't you fly all the way there supersonic or would it be too much?"

I'll need to save that for the return. Light shivered. _It_ was near waking up.

"Wow! _It_ trembles!" Dark called out, "is it good or bad?"

_It_ is almost awoken. After a while Light finished crossing the almost black sea and flew up. He flew from between a few mountains, until he saw a large windy ledge which stuck out from an almost vertical slope.

"Hooray, the greatest ledge of peripheria", Dark cheered, "as entire as always!"

The angel made a perfect landing on the cliff and went to its base. There, wrapped in jute with chains was a large sack. The chains were tied to the slope through a big iron crook, which told a story of an ancient blimp moorage place. One of Light's wing tentacles went gently down his throat, and pulled a big key out.

"Hey! I always wondered where the hell did you put that!"

Light opened the lock keeping the chain together and freed the sack. With it he flew down to the woods where the wind was dead and there was a low Precursor platform sticking out of the wood chips covering the forest floor. Light gently let the sack down to it. He opened it up and spread a plucked skin of a yakow roughly shaped like a star. Then he started taking bones out of the sack, starting with a skull.

"Careful!" Dark pointed out, "remember how small the extras are!"

Light nodded and searched for the smallest bones. They were one by one wrapped in jute so that they didn't break. Hearing was important…

When Light had put 211 bones to their places and only the right ulna was left, a strong throb run though him and made him curve up and drop the bone. It bounced the slope down and stopped a few meters away.

"I'll get it!" Dark said and ran to it, transforming back to Light at the platform, "_it_'s not trembling anymore, _it _shakes vigorously and hurls out some kind of mind storm."

"I can feel it", Light snarled and put the bone to its place. Good that it didn't break… In front of him was a complete faery skeleton.

Dark had used a whole year to dig the graveyards of Spargus trying to find usable os, and Light had cradled _it_ inside his mind. Every fertile month _it_ had caused him pain, but he had not cared. _It_ was his burden and he'd carry _it_ if it was to be so.

He wasn't completely happy with the skeleton. The left leg was a little shorter than the right one, only about parts of an inch but it was enough to make _it_ limp a little while walking. Also, the left hand was bigger than the right one, as it was almost impossible to find entire hand bones. You couldn't just go and take different phalanges, bones of fingers, and mix them up with different metacarpals, it would end up in wearing out and in the end the hand would be an aching bag of osseous tissue dust. …But overall the underframe was wonderful considered that it contained bones from 67 bodies.

Light checked that all the bones were at their places, switched the places of right tibia and fibula, and then took more yakow skin out of the bag and started wrapping it around the bones. Dark had plucked almost all the fur off, it was only left at places where the faery hair grew most strongly.

Light looked at the piece of skin surrounding the skull. It had fur, but also holes for eyes, mouth and nose. The ears had to grow long so they were cut from the skin, too. Skull was at the same time the most important yet the most easiest: if one of the easy basics went wrong, it would cause a disaster, but the basics were, as mentioned before, easy. The most important thing was that it had a right amount of teeth, a skull of centurian Metal Head could have been as well. The skull was the home of the soul, so the soul shaped and decorated it for its own taste.

"Soon I'll be free of my dues!" a voice was almost singing in the angelic creature's head. Light loved rules and norms, Jak liked them but was bad at obeying them, but Dark was a creature of chaos and not a line or standard or rule could ever stop oppressing him.

Do you think it is ready? Light thought as another throb ran through him.

"It is and _it_ is", Dark assured, "it's emitting blue lightnings, like eco, but I guess it's not."

Light sneered and smirked. It emitting eco in his head would crown his day.

"Ouch! I'm struck by it!" Dark roared, "what it is?"

Psyche flares, not eco.

"How nice! Can you now please do whatever it takes to get _it_ out of your head, please? _It_'s getting hot in here!"

Light smirked again. They would now make it unless something really surprising would happen. He bent over and wrapped his tentacles around the strange bag of leather and bones before pressing his lips at the mouth-hole of the bag.

A sheer eruption of blue light emerged and suddenly everything was lit. Luckily the trees absorbed most of the incandescence so that the night in Haven City didn't turn to day. Light Jak trembled but kept his lips on the bag…

As suddenly as it had come it was gone and although he felt like he could just collapse at the ground and drift away, he took the body in his hands and dashed back to Haven with his 'time freeze'. Dark was hollering hoorahs in his head that it felt lighter than ever. The line of blue dived to Casa de Ottsel's garden, burst through a wooden door, made sharp turns and dived into Jak's room dropping the body at the floor.

* * *

Jak woke up startled as the transformation was over and at first didn't see a thing in the dark. When his eyes got used to the dim, he saw _it_ on the floor. And with a quelled scream he remembered all about _him_.

* * *

_Lucius: "It was there. Now give me food!"_

_maestro: "Do not be impolite. Dear readers, you might not get a new chapter for two weeks –"_

_Da: "TWO WEEKS?"_

_maestro: "- because we need to write a drama play."_

_Sipuli: "Yeah, and it takes a lot of our time as we study, too."_

_maestro: "So we wish you are patient and –"_

_Lucius: "Love and feed me still when we come back."_


	11. Sections 7, 8 & 9

_Characters (c) Naughty Dog._

_**Afeenaninganing**, for a moment, neither I had an actual idea. –exdee- _

_**Meowen**, please forgive me, I didn't know you can submit a review from one specific chapter… Or something. I'm such a whizkid… -exdee sequel- Good that you liked Suvan! I only just realised her name actually has both SUV and 'a van'… Oh dear… Really it is hindi and means 'the sun'. Wheeh…_

_**jaklover123**, Light and Dark (who has given his counterpart a 'nice' nickname) took the control while Jak was catching z's… But yeah, things will become clearer. _

_**LunarSquirrel**, well it took a while for me to continue, but now it's here! _

_Thank you all for the reviews! I cherish them!_

* * *

_Da: "Why do you carry one of my floodlights around with you?"_

_Sipuli: "It's a too long story."_

_Da: "Tell me! I watch The Cut for an episode and you three have already written a chapter and… done something else as I can guess from that flood."_

_Sipuli: "Well, it was just a little bet."_

_Da: "You gamble?"_

_Sipuli: "Not anymore."_

_Da: "Tell me more, vege, keep on!"_

_Sipuli: "Ok, platinum, well, I made a bet with Lucius, that could he surprise maestro with doing something… well, serious. Not his typical oopsie-boobsie –stylee."_

_Da: "Oh."_

_Sipuli: "And I lost."_

_Da: "Oh, then… But why the photoflood?"_

_Sipuli: "Sigh… Well, you see, it's tied to my back isn't it?"_

_Da: "Yeah."_

_Sipuli: "Now, use your imagination. A floodlight tied to my back."_

_Da: "Hmm… Imagination… Oh, now I know!"_

_Sipuli: "Great, I knew you have some gray brain cells left even after all that hydrogen peroxide."_

_Da: "I'll use that for my next collection! Yeah! Clothes with lights, that will make reflectors history!"_

_Sipuli: "NO! Not your new collection, you idiot, a FLASHBACK!"_

* * *

11. **Sections 7, 8 & 9**

CLANG.

The steel door made a loud noise that resounded from the walls of Section 7. A faery in a yellow-blue leather costume walked past the metal bars and ignored the commotion on his right side. Section 7 was for arrogant, fatal and irremediable prisoners, everyone of them _that's wrong!_ had already spent time in almost every section before, until being locked up to the 'seventh heaven'.

"Erol, fuck you, Erol!" a blaring roar came from cell one. Erol knew without looking that a tall man his hair just as orange like his was trying to break the thick, locked door with his voice, outrageously pushing his face against the small barred hole which serves as a window. Just like always, Pontus was such predictable…

"Go lick your Baron's hairy ass more!"

"Yeah!"

"Stick yourself real deep!" The cells closest to the main doors shouted at him.

Erol sneered. They never got bored of those same insults. Somewhere under the angry voices, causeless roars and screams and sobs there were the same old pub song, something about a turquoise yakow. The commander didn't like pubs, in his opinion inebriants tasted like yakow pee (not that he had ever tasted though) and he hated the blurry feeling. He had only once been drunken, and that how-do-you-do had cost him his work of months – and a friend although the ginger didn't want to admit it.

_Always remain in control. The rule number two._

Another steel door closed behind him, almost completely muffling the sounds from Section 7. Erol opened another one, and it damped the noise completely. Still another door waited to be opened.

Erol didn't like Section 8. Section 7's noises were familiar, desperate, pitiful… In every way from-this-world. But Section 8 was saved for faeries who weren't in this world at all! He got to know all the data from all the arrests and he enjoyed reading them - and although he had only worked as the commander for a little over a year now he had rummaged through the fortress library. And every year, more and more _that kind of_ people were brought to Section 8. What was the strangest thing was that_ that kind of_ people were killed as immatures and still the found grownup ones, more and more. Whenever a child was noticed to have lost a nut or a few, KG's took care about it – a child was no granted the same laws as adults, they were considered more like animals. Erol didn't like those 'gigs', thank Mar he had got rid of those as _that's not right, Erol, not right_ he advanced on his career, too much of yelling, too aggressive dads and hysteric mums… And killing _kids_. In the steel-hard mind of his, Erol didn't want to face the fact that blowing the brain out of an infant had not been a nice job to do.

_Whatever Baron wants me to do, I will do it. The rule number one. That's the building block of my training. Of my career._

Erol swiftly passed the main doors to Section 8, trying to ignore the silence filled with whispers and whimpers, the irrational screams, muttering and the sound of a squeezing faery in an overpopulated cell. More and more of those… Baron would soon have to give up trying to squeeze twenty faeries into a one-person cell!

The next steel door had been painted blazing orange. Erol showed his key card.

"The skin resemblance?" said a cold female computer voice and a metal pipe appeared from behind a steel plate. Erol pressed his trigger finger against the pipe's mouth.

"The password?" the computer continued. By this time it became clear that the hardware was made in Krais: no-one in Heaven pronounced password with a phonetic script a.

"Onomatopoetry", said the commander. He'd need to change the password every day. Most of the officers would have just used words like 'yakow', 'Haven', 'city'. 'Baron', 'eco', 'Hell Cat' or 'wumpa' – and only because the minimum requirement was two syllables - but Erol had always enjoyed word games, crossword puzzles and literature, and he was actually having fun _do not, please, you know you don't want to_ inventing whole new words for the computer. He was especially proud of this tilting one; it combined the both onomatopoeia, usage of words symbolizing sounds, and poetry, and it was a word easy to believe to exist. After all there were already onomatopoet, so why not –poetry?

"Access granted", the computer said emotionlessly, and the orange doors slid open.

The next two doors were the ordinary chrome gray. Erol opened them both and walked into Section 9. None other could pass the orange door except for the Baron, and the commander didn't expect his employer to pay a visit. In the end Praxis seldom visited the jails, it was Erol's job to keep the plan running. The commander had noticed, that the cells angered and maybe even frightened the Baron. But in Section 9, there was nothing to fear. The ginger man stood quietly letting his eyes wonder in the grotesque jail. The jails continued to eternity downwards, and there _that's illegal!_ in the middle of nowhere, was almost like floating in the midair a bed. And above that were all kind of drills, spikes, vessels, cords and tubes. That was, as Praxis called it, the Havenic Eco Bed, HEB, but if people had got a chance to look at it they'd probably had called it a torturing device. Of course the nescient masses wouldn't _ready for the guilt trip?_ understand that the apparatus only helped to evolve a faery to a higher level, well, in the case it survived alive, which didn't happen too often. The guinea pigs for Dark Warrior Project were risen above all the others. Everyone shall venerate those. Noble faeries chosen to become the keys in the battle against those atrocious creatures, Metal Heads.

It was pro-peace. It was a bang-up thing, a gorgeous plan, not a felony.

_It was wrong._

Erol took another key card, cold-shouldering the thought. He had tightened his breathing without noticing, and took a deep breath, listening to the silence. He pushed the door open and the quiet was broken with a loud screech.

The commander walked to cell twelve, the only used one of the hundred-and-six. He glanced in from the small hole in the door and met sapphire blue eyes staring back.

"Hello", he said in a light tone but didn't gain an answer. Another key card and another opened door later the redheaded faery was standing in the same cell, his hair almost touching the iron ceiling. The owner of the blue eyes just sat on the bunk, still like a cadaver, staring at the hazel ones. The cell was rather ascetic, but hey it was a cell. A bunk and a toilet bowl and unused chains. Some pipes crossing the ceiling, Erol knew _that's wrong that's wrong that's wrong!_ the prisoner used them for exercising. Only other items in the room were a spoon, a bowl, a toilet roll and a pillow. The last mentioned didn't seem to fit the scene at all, mainly because it didn't continue the crude cell style. It was a soft, big pillow. Something you could expect to find from a Havenic family over the subsistence level.

"You've liked it?" Erol had had his idea of what he wanted to do, but now he had lost it. But nonetheless, the situation thrilled him.

The prisoner didn't answer.

"A 'thank you' would be welcome."

The prisoner, a boy with semi-long green hair, on the step between the child- and manhood, looked away.

"I said 'a thank you would be welcome'", the grownup faery strode to him and pushed him against the wall from his chest.

The horrified boy stared at the man and muttered something.

"What!"

"Thank you!" the faery shrieked.

"Nice, you learn", Erol let go and stroke the boy's hair, "even if the DWP failed, I'm glad to have been able to teach something to you – in case you don't die of course. Unfortunately the Baron does not value your education that high, so you'd better proceed, if you know what I mean… But I must confess that even he is amazed of you; all the others have passed away after a vaccine or two. You're capable of coping with the real treatment."

"No more", the boy stared at a wall, "no more."

"No more of what?" the ginger faery played stupid.

"The eco crap."

"Crap, did you say? Crap?" again the commander came close, this time inches from Jak's face, standing tall in front of him, "Baron – in my opinion – wastes the precious dark eco on a scumbag like you, and you dare calling that crap! Shame on you!"

Suddenly the prisoner knee-kicked the commander at his groin and dashed from the door. The surprised faery hardly squeaked or paid attention to the ache and immediately scudded after the runaway but slowed down when he noticed that he was at the main doors, banging the bars desperately.

"You think I would be that stupid?" Erol asked and laid his hand on the faery's shoulder, "you seriously underestimate me. Oh well, and I had thought you had learned…"

"Let me go", the prisoner hished from between his teeth, "let me go."

"Even if I could…" the commander left the sentence floating in the air.

"Let me go!" the gangly boy cried out and banged his fists against the bars, this time tears emerging from his eyes, "please, c-commander!"

One part of Erol wanted to comfort the boy, somehow, maybe even open all the doors and let him escape, although he had been arrested immediately and the commander probably shot. The redhead raised his hand and stroke the wet cheek of the boy, who stared at the opposite wall behind the bars like he could reappear there by using only strength of mind.

"Say that again."

The tone of Erol's made creeps run up and down the prisoner's spine.

"The p-p-please?"

"No."

The boy looked at the man frozen by dread, wanting to turn away from the eerie shine in his eyes, the shine he had seen too many times before, but finding it impossible because of too hands pressed on the sides of his head.

"Now go ahed. Say it!"

His voice was just a fair whisper: "no."

"Wrong answer!" the redhead shoved the prisoner backwards. The section echoed of the sound of the falling faery. Erol walked towards and again stand tall – this time – on the boy. "Now, say it!" he slammed his palm at the green-haired head.

"C-c-commander!" the boy screamed lest he'd be beaten again.

"That's my boy!" the outrageous tone of redhead's voice changed in an eye blink, yet even so it remained psychopathic. The commander kneeled on the boy locking him to the floor, "and you shall be rewarded, do you?"

* * *

_Sipuli: "That's it!"_

_Da: "That'ssick."_

_Sipuli: "Eftersom! That was Lucius. But he could write serious stuff… Damn this floodlight is uncomfortable…"_


	12. Waste Your Life & Ignore Your Death

_Haven and all the characters excluding Thara are products of Naughty Dog, SONY, blaah blaah et cetera._

_**Meowen**, hahaa, loved your reply! I don't mind if you go crazy over my story! Å, du talar Svenska! Jätte kiva, jag tycker om det fast jag är ett 'offer' om 'the evil n sinister' PAKKORUOTSI!111elv But I like Swedish, trying to learn to talk it fluently. I confess, I took the chin-ups thing from European Jak II site, heh. But I took it coz I wanted to show that although Jak appears as an introvert, subdued shell in front of Erol, he's ready to make it stop and works for it, desperately trying to become stronger etc…He's fighting! Blaah blaah, personal growth, wobbeldobbeldoo… Special thanks for Muse. –smile-_

_**Squirrel-under-a-bus**, christ-on-a-bike I review myself. A bit desperate isn't it? _

_**Darth Tank**, I'll keep on._

_**jaklover123**, it was a flashback; it was about the time during Jak 2's intro, when Jak was in jail. It would help a lot if the grammatical errors were mentioned, like "this and that there and here" coz I just don't see them with my English… _

_Thank you all for the reviews (except me myself and I perhaps), I cherish them! _

* * *

_Sipuli: "Am I the only one to love this chapter name?"_

_maestro: "No you are not, I adore it, too, yet the content could be –"_

_Lucius: "Control freak! You're never satiated!"_

_maestro: "Do not interrupt me, young rodent."_

_Lucius: "Still bitter of my achievements in the last chapter?"_

_Sipuli: "Here we go again…"_

* * *

12. **Waste Your Life & Ignore Your Death**

"Honestly, how many gunshots does it take to kill him?"

Erol recognized the familiar male noise and finally managed to open his eyes. The orbs felt strange, both hot and cold. Actually his whole body felt strange, like it had been either tightened or loosened from every corner. His head ached, his temples throbbing along his heart, which wasn't sure how fast it should pump, thus skipping beats and changing the tempo irrationally.

Keira in a negligee. Good!

Angry Torn in his underwear. _Very _bad!

And hell no, not again that boy.

"Erol!" the angry-Torn-in-his-underwear yelled and shoved him against the wall. Erol noticed that his arms were tied up and when he tried to move his legs, something around his ankles hold them back making a metallic rattle.

"Great…" he muttered.

"What!"

"What?" his hair was itching. Lice?

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"What?"

"You know", Keira-in-a-negligee said and crossed her arms, "you should be dead."

"That much I know", Erol snapped and realised his eyes we're getting dry. Immediately as the thought rose up, his eyelids took the command and started blinking in a slow, natural rhythm.

Torn bit his teeth, wanting to say something but he failed to find anything worth enunciating.

"Why are you here?" she continued.

"That much I don't know."

"Liar!" Torn snarled and shoved him again at the wall. Rattlerattle.

"You've been killed two times…" Keira seemed to be talking more to herself than to the newly-alive body, "how can you always come back?"

"I wasn't dead, I think, when I exploded, I think… I fail to remember…"

"That explains us so much", Torn's voice could have drown a small village into sarcasm, "you've somehow resurrected yourself and you've got no idea how or why."

"Yes", Erol was too numb to realise the scorn, instead he realised he was completely naked, "I've no idea."

A voice of a slamming door echoed in the basement and soon they heard a familiar noise: "the army of ottsels is coming!" that was Daxter who soon rushed into the jail past Jak, who was silently leaning at the doorframe, "sheesh, someone seems to be found alive again and again…"

"Now, pay attention!" Tess shouted and immediately climbed on a small disk placed under a locker, and Keira and Torn backed out of the cell.

"This thing", she took out a bottle, "the red pills, they keep his blood running – if he's got blood anyway. We must keep him chained all the time and we don't want him to get a thrombus, do we? I suggest that we keep him alive and keep an eye on him all the times, because if he has really come from the other side, we don't know what's against us."

"Wow, honey, you've really figured these thing's out!" Daxter congratulated his girl and was accompanied with Keira's and Torn's nods. Jak remained stiff three steps above them.

"Thanks, Dax!" Tess's voice returned to the normal oh-Daxybaxy-tone for a second until continuing the lecture: "and now, these purple and yellow pills are food. It's true that we have a bowl –" she pointed at the usual coarse cell toilet bowl, "and we've got equipment to let chained prisoners to ease their being, but I guess we don't wanna do that too often… And also with that immobility the digestion doesn't work properly. At least eight of these pills a day, four yellow, four purple, but not over twenty each – Torn", the ottsel had noticed the redhead's smirk, "do not think about it, you know what happens –"

"What happens?" Jak spoke for the first time.

"Well, we can call that a kind of an inner eruption –"

"She means", Torn told smirking again, "that he would lose the control of all of his exits. Those pills are old KG stuff."

"If you do that", Tess's voice could have made a Metal Head army retreat, "you clean it!"

"Not that big price…" Jak shrugged his shoulders and Daxter cracked laughing.

"Jak!"

"Chill up honey, I'll watch after him", the male ottsel calmed her down, "how many of those red ones, sugarwumpa?"

"One a day. These must be given on a regular cycle, like ev'ry morning or ev'ry evening."

"So we must not give one yet", Keira weighed it in her mind, "otherwise we'l need to hmm – _feed_ – him in the night."

"Yeah, let's wait 'til the morning. Oh, and these", the female ottsel pulled out a small box and opened it, "here we have turquoise flakes. These are expensive, hard to get and illegal, made of seayakow roe."

"What do they do, babe?" Daxter asked.

"They prevent his muscles from atrophying, withering away."

"You got those", Keira turned to Jak.

"Well, I lost sinew."

"You got it in via an IV-drip", Keira explicated, "it's recommended be taken via mouth and digestion."

"Losing muscular tissue is normal, we do it all the time – well not we but you gain and lose it", Light explained, "but it ain't the same as atrophying."

"These must be taken once a month", Tess continued, "I think we should give one now, or what do you think?" she gave the granular flake Torn, who walked to Erol.

"Say aa."

Erol's knee jerk reaction was to keep his mouth tightly shut – _never eat anything given to you by an enemy_ - but he realised he had no other way… But as soon as the flake touched his tongue he started retching and coughing and spat the cookie to floor.

"That's disgusting!" he exclaimed, "never tasted anything worse!"

"Yeah, it's a bit sour", Torn said lightly and picked the softened flake from the floor not bothering to clean it from the dust, "but like it or not, you'll swallow it. Teeth apart."

"No, honestly –"

"I deeply suggest you open your mouth."

"No!"

"Your way, then", Torn punched the prisoner in the midriff and then pressed from both sides of his skull forcing the jaws apart. Then he stuck the flake in Erol's mouth and forced him to move his jaws.

Erol struggled, the incredibly sour pure-evil devil-flake brought the tears to his eyes and made creeps run all over his body, but Torn was in command.

"Now swallow it."

Erol swiftly grinded the flake to smaller pieces and gulped it, and caught his breath.

"And we must give him water like for a normal person, we shall use that thing –" Tess pointed at the bowl again, "once a day. And I can't do it, I'm too small for that. What a pity, isn't it?"

"I won't do it", Jak said and couldn't hold back a small twitch, "we'll keep him in our home?"

"We can't let him walk away", Tess explained, "he knows too much about us – well, at least about this secret cell now - and is dangerous anyway."

"Don't let's rescue the world again from him, buddy?" Daxter smiled.

"I guess you're right…"

"We need to keep guard over him", Tess continued.

"I'm off", Jak snorted and disappeared to the corridor.

"Jak-buddy", the orange lightning rushed after him, "wanna have a beer?"

"Volunteers?" Tess asked, "I'll need to go to check Ottsel, too."

"I can do it", both Keira and Torn said quickly and then changed glances.

"I will do it", she said and Torn bit his teeth again.

"Fine, well, of course you could both do it but in my opinion –"

"I will do it."

"Fine", Torn snarled.

"You join us in Ottsel?"

"Naw, I'll go catch some z's", he said and walked out of the door.

"Okay then" Tess shrugged and jumped down from the disk, her evening gown making a noise of a ripping seam, "shit! Oh, excuse my Kras… Keira, you don't have to spend all the night –"

"I'm fine, Tess."

"Well, Torn ain't gone, so anytime –"

"Have fun, '_mum_'!"

"Whatever then… Bye!"

"Bye."

* * *

"Ya so quiet!"

"Huh?"

"'N' ya ain't listening to me!" Daxter said, "and ya'ven't touched ya drink!"

"Oh, go ahead!" Jak snorted and leaned back. He regretted his reply a bit as Daxter sink the drink, but asking for a new one right away seemed stupid.

"Ta, bud", the ottsel placed his elbows on the table, "ya know wha'?"

"Huh?"

"Well I know neither."

"Huh?"

"Why ya so quiet now?"

"Dax, I never used to be much louder or more extrovert."

"Wow, I'm proud of you", Light hollered in his head, "good word!"

"Well… We'ven't talked bout anything these days."

"That's a shame, really. But we never talked – it was always you that talked, I listened, nothing bad in it though.…"

"Ya know wha'?"

"Do you know now?"

"I s'pose", Daxter raised his hand and hollered, "Thara, two purple thingies here!"

"Of course, sir!" it only took a moment and a busty faery delivered their orders, "anything else, sir?"

"No, Thara, not yet at least."

"Fine, just call me!"

"Yeah yeah", Daxter continued after she had gone: "she's just a big fat wet tongue in my ass, but who cares? She's a good waitress, ya know. Of course worse than Tess, though."

"Are you saying that you have had some activity with others –"

"What? Ya crazy, buddy! I would never – ever – do anything like that to my sugarbabe. Just about the services for Ottsel, not me, ya know. Huh, you are crazy."

"I'm sorry."

"Ya shall be", Daxter sank his 'purple thingy' and continued: "now tell me, why are you so piped down? Speechless, maybe?"

"Just – uh – nothing. Just thinking", Jak stared at his drink. Teeny weeny purple bubbles were begging him to pledge them in honour of alleviation.

"Ya know wha'?"

"What?"

"It doesn't suit you."

Jak barked with laughter and drank his glass empty. "We wanna see Thara again, don't we?"

* * *

"Excuse me", Erol spoke, "just to let you know, I'm not up to world demolition or domination. I, I've never been."

"Do you forget the so-called Cyber Erol?" Keira snapped.

"That… That wasn't me… Kind of…"

"You kidding me? It was you but it wasn't?" she leaned at the bars, "I'm no dolt, Erol."

"I know how smart you are!" Erol stared at the floor. His body had stopped feeling odd… Maybe it was just because of… well… he didn't know. "I was inside it – and outside it… I gave _Errol_ the soul, the brain, the voice… And half a face, but… It was… My mind was not mine… I was watching over how a computer remo-chip was controlling me in its own minatory ways…"

Keira snorted: "You're saying that you had a reason and emotion chip controlling you? Just to let you know, roboboy, not a remo-chip has ever worked. What you say could be possible in theory, but remoes just don't work. Even I tried to turn my hand on them before they were illegalized, but no, remoes always cremate the one they're put onto."

"Just to let you know, mechagirl", for the first time Erol's voice had some emotion to it; bitterness, "I was mostly cremated anyway."

"Pity you", Keira shrugged and turned her back. She didn't want Erol to see that she was fighting back tears and kept her voice sarcastic, "what is it on the other side?"

"I honestly don't remember anything. I remember myself being beaten by that boy –"

"Jak."

"Yes, of course your dear beloved Jak –"

"A", Keira turned again to the bars, "I don't love him. B, he's not my dear."

"Oh", Erol seemed surprised but soon the gall returned, "pity you."

"We never were 'us'."

"That's why you used me as a substitute for him, right?"

"You weren't a substitute!"

"You used me anyway!"

"True", Keira turned around again and continued in an icy cold tone, "you helped a lot. Thanks."

"Well, I'm sorry about torturing Jak, but –"

"C, who cares?"

"I just needed to speak my mind."

"Not you. Jak! Who cares about his torment?"

"Oh", the orange haired faery remained silent for a moment, "you really had a row didn't you?"

"The row only came after the ire had been given birth."

"What time is it?" Erol asked after a longer silence, "and where am I?"

"What?" Keira looked at him.

"The year. The month. The place. Is this Haven?"

"You've been gone for two years. Over three if we don't count Errol. And it's Lisha the second. And yes, it's Haven. My home."

"I've missed three years…" the ginger prisoner seemed shocked, "no, why am I lying? I've wasted all my life since I was eleven!"

"Luckily for me."

"I deserve all your scorn, but –"

"But what?" Keira exploded suddenly and banged her fists at the bars, "not only were you the only one ever to make me feel passionately desired. Not only I started feeling remorse of using you. Not only I fell in love with you although you were arrogant, full of yourself, serving the Baron, whatever and using me. You go and die and come back and die and come back! Erol, I don't love you anymore, my whole heart is dead, but you still rip my ev'ry stitch open 'cause I have my mem'ries! Please… And not only you make me say this all aloud! I'm off now, try to figure something out of your life 'cause it will waste even more here."

"Keira!" she heard him calling her, but it didn't stop her. She strode up the stairs, only to find Jak and Daxter passed out in the hall, sleeping side by side.

"Why me?" she cursed from between her teeth, "why always me?"

She didn't bother trying to get either of her friends to bed; she rushed to her bedroom. She saw herself in the mirror, was reminded tat she wore hardly anything modest and started screaming into her pillow. She wished the champagne table to come to her. If it came, she would surely give up to it… But no, of course it didn't appear out of thin air. Keira wrapped herself in the coverlets and suddenly she was completely somewhere else, somewhere with a warm glow, only to notice she was in her bed again…

"I do need some rest", she sighed and was soon caught by an army of z's.

* * *

_Da: "This time it was Keira who's sleep ended our chapter."_

_Sipuli: "Oooh, how variable we are! -cough-"_

_Lucius: "How bruised we are… -sigh- "_

_maestro: "Ommm… But now we are asking help –"_

_Lucius: "Yep. An ambulance, anyone?"_

_maestro: "Interruption! Ommm, now, how is Jinx?"_

_Sipuli: "Who is he?"_

_Da: "How does he talk?"_

_Lucius: "What does he do?"_

_maestro: "And so on, ommm… We need to know all that you can tell us about this Jinx."_

_Lucius: "We can't write about him unless we have a picture of his characteristics in our head, can we?"_

_Da: "Yes, we can."_

_Sipuli: "Platinum! That would never work out!"_

_maestro: "So please, could you give us a helping hand?"_


	13. A Promise, A Request & The Return

_The characters are products of Naughty Dog and SONY._

_**Darth Tank**, I've just struggling with the mission where I need to escort him and two other buddies in the sewers, I'm surprised as I only expected him to be in Jak III, but anyway I love his voice! It's just so overthetop and characteristic! –smiley- But yes, thank you a lot!_

_**Meowen**, arigatoogozaimasu! Skulle jag bli bekymrad, we've started using four languages in our 'conversation'. –smiley II, renegade- Nej nej nej, jag talar svenska inte bra, men jag hoppas lärä sig att göra. Is it fine if I fix your grammatical errors? I'd love if you fixed mine if you found some (I´m sure you do!)… "…minä yritän sanoa…", the A in the end, and also I think "suomeksi" would be better than "suomalainen" which should be "suomalaista", anyway. And also "paremmin" is the comparative of doing something better. But hey, you do very well, Finnish grammar is outrageous! I know a woman who has studied Finnish for 12 years and still can't speak it fluently… Men hon började i gamla åren, I´m sure you will learn all these grammatic thingamajings and alakazams! Oh, I like your new habit! –smiley III- Hmm… I shan't relate Jinx to others, I guess, I'll let you keep him Torn's cousin, let's not steal your stuff. Thanks for the info anyway! –smiley X, combat smileyholism-_

_**jaklover123**, awww I made them out of character, didn't mean to. –a tear- Hmm… Well I'll find an excuse for that! –smileyholism continues- The reasons for the things will be made clear sometime. Let's see what happens for the redhead, shall he live or shall he not?..._

* * *

_maestro: "We bow for the ones whose helping hands guided our way like a lantern in the dark of night."_

_Sipuli: "Cute stuff. And yet our chainsmoker doesn't even appear in this chapter."_

_Da: "Oh no!"_

_Sipuli: "Eeeek. A panic."_

_Lucius: "Blaah blaah, can we get to the business? I'm in a need of a snack."_

* * *

13. **A Promise, A Request & The Return**

The couple of next days were pretty tense. Jak hardly made any noise, he even walked more quieter than before, thus was freaking everyone out by suddenly appearing behind this and that corner. Daxter tried to cheer him up, but he seemed to be avoiding the confused rodent.

Keira on the other hand was all jittery, sometimes starting to cry or get seemingly outrageous just out of nothing. Tess tried to comfort her every time when a sudden emotion wave washed over her, but wasn't helped by the fact that she was completely out of the situation. Torn was moody and sulked, but cultivated sarcasm and jaundice a lot more than usually.

And yes, in the middle of this everything were two ottsels 'at sea', not knowing what they were supposed to do. And oh, under them was a faery who was the reason for this all that he didn't know was going on.

Jak and Torn both had also started spending time with Daxter in the Naughty Ottsel which didn't make the female faery in the house any happier. Tess was a bit distressed over her friend, who spent most of her time keeping an eye on Erol. Whenever she came back, she was either screaming of wrath and/or frustration, breaking down in tears and rushing to her garden or bathroom, or then colder than a Metal Head on a snowy day. She was also having headache or sudden attacks of nausea.

"Girl", the female ottsel was sitting on the washing machine while the green-haired faery was ejecting the contents of her stomach through the mouth – and cursing between every mouthful.

"What, Tess? Fuck I hate this shit – MARDAMN!" and there she went again.

Tess waited for another moment of peace and continued: "don't you just happen to be pregnant?"

"WHAT?" Keira shrieked and was forced to continue the process, "what the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, it's just that you have had these little ill moments and you've eaten a lot more than usually –"

"Thanks a lot, does it show?"

"No, of course not, but I've just noticed it… And your emotional range has been in a very variable use these last three days and also… You've spent a lot time with Erol."

"WHAT?" Keira lay back at the bathroom wall which was made out of opal-glass bricks, "are you expecting me to have baby for Erol?"

"No, not for Erol, I don't honestly expect you to become pregnant in three days or at least feel the effects of it although it is Lisha, but I was just thinking that maybe you were looking for some… hmm… let's say, male-aspect."

"Are you hinting that I'm searching comfort out of Erol? I'm sorry but that just makes me –" she swiftly returned to the bowl.

"Well, maybe. Don't be offended, please, I didn't mean it like that, sister. I'm just so worried about this situation here!"

"How come?"

"Well, just in three days you three have become wholly dif'rent persons!"

"Shit happens."

"I guess it must be because of Erol, right?"

"Actually, no", Keira sat back again, "you can keep a secret right?"

"Is Haven gray?" Tess pressed her furry hands together so that they pointed downwards, in a Havenic way, "whatever you shall tell, I shan't tell whoever."

"I thought so, too", she looked around her and continued whispering, "I've had… some sort of… strange feelings lately."

"You've got mixed emotions?" Tess whispered, too, "well honey, that shows."

"No, not emotions… Feelings! Well, like visions combined with – what's the word again? – somatic sensations. Like… Visions, or something."

"With somaesthesia, huh? You… see things and feel things? Is this a new thing?"

"Well, not really, I mean… I've had them I guess always. Usually when I was half-asleep or drunken and so on and very sparingly so I've thought that they are just well…" Keira settled into a more relaxed position, "things everyone has but no-one talks about or just that I… flicker between the sleep and awareness."

"That's pretty interesting. And I suppose that now you've gotten more of them?"

"Yeah, exactly and they are a lot stronger and they make me sick or my head hurt or my heart race and so on."

"So, are you saying that ev'ry time you puke there's a – vision? – behind it?"

"No, I can feel sick without them, too. I think too much these days and so. But they can make me feel so ill just when I have felt very healthy."

"Can they, visions, make you feel good, then? At least my – let's call them, too – visions can make me feel very good if Daxy is too busy –"

"Well, the visions themselves can have some nice glow or nice atmosphere within", Keira cut in, "I guess the illness is an after effect."

"How are your visions then? Like, explain them in a detailed way."

"Well", Keira stared at the light turquoise shower curtain, "I close my eyes or blink them and when I open them I'm in a completely dif'rent place and feel if the place is colder or warmer, and the place might remind me of something I don't remember or then make me feel frightened or happy or something, but of course I blink my eyes out of surprise and it's gone and I'm here again."

"Wow, that's scary", Tess had a twisted smile on her face, "and pretty cool. Where have you been with your visions?"

"Well, it happens so fast that I only remember colours, glows, some shapes, glimmers et cetera. I don't have time to analyse what I see."

"Oh, well try to keep your eyes open next time, maybe it will be some help. Could you think Erol could be behind this?"

"No, they started getting stronger earlier – even before Jak returned, actually after father had died -" her voice was quiet and quite fragile.

"Maybe his powers moved into you! What about that?"

"No, Tess", Keira smirked, "a good idea, but sagery ain't hereditary… I'm feeling pretty well now, shall we leave this specific room?"

* * *

The day went on. Keira lay in the garden, absent-mindedly flipping through a few magazines. Erol was probably been watched over by Torn or then maybe Tess, and Daxter and Jak were already in the Ottsel, although it hadn't even opened.

"Erm… Hi."

The surprised faery let out a sharp scream and bounced to her feet: "Torn! Mar dammit, I've already a headache… Lurker-in-a-boat, promise me you won't do that again."

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to surprise you."

"You could have made some noise when you came!"

"In my opinion I did… I didn't notice you at first, I guess you were in your thoughts, too."

"Thanks. I know I'm a greenie, but I've never been told that I look like a shrub."

"No no, you don't look like a shrub –"

"Yeah, I got it, Torn."

"Alright then."

"Who's watching over Erol?"

"Tess."

"All right… You know, I was thinking…"

"What?"

"Well, I need to ask you a question and I wish you won't tell a soul about it."

"Fine, I promise. Please go on."

"Well, can Jak turn invisible?"

"Invisible? Jak?"

"I mean Dark Jak. Or Light Jak. Can they turn invisible?"

Torn thought of it for a moment and rubbed his chin: "I think I've heard something about it, like that Jak has had some problems turning invisible or then it was Jinx who had some problems with being invincible or other stuff like that, just a minor mem'ry… It was around the time when he got back to Haven."

"That ain't faraway."

"I mean after he'd been exiled."

"Oh then…" Keira thought for a second, too, "d'you think that Daxter might know something about it?"

"Well, I'd suppose so."

"I've got an idea."

"And?"

"I think that you should ask Dax about him."

"Why me?"

"Well, if I ask it, it would seem a little bizarre and leery, wouldn't it?"

"How come?"

"You see, I'm not supposed to be interested of Jak at all right now."

"Are you interested of him?" Torn's eyebrows flew halfway up his forehead.

"I'm not. At all, expect this. I need to know can he turn invisible!"

"Oh. Why do you need to know that?" Torn sat on the edge of the fountain, whose centre statue was an ottsel (or should it be said 'precursor'?) reaching for the sky, "where've you gotten this crazy idea?"

"Uhm I just…", Keira tried to think for an explanation, but failed to find an usable white lie, so she just kept her mouth shut and stared at her toes that had grass between them.

"You don't wanna answer?"

"I've just got a feeling, and I've been around some things, but I don't want to sue anyone for nothing, even if it's Jak."

"Fine, as you wish."

"Thanks, Torn! I knew I could trust you!" she rouse up and made movements towards the slide doors, "I'm sorry, I feel a little sick now…"

"You want me to ask Daxter?" Torn yelled as Keira turned her back and ran.

"Yeah you got it!"

"You're welcome", he muttered, "wohoo, where have I stuck my nose into again...?"

* * *

When Erol woke up, he found himself alone. The reason was as simple as a misunderstanding (which of course later would lead into an I-thought-it-was-you-nonono-don't-go-sayin'-it-was-me –wrangle), but the prisoner didn't know it. He found it very strange, considered that everything that had already happened was only dream and then thought that perhaps this everything was just a dream or then the hell because there was certainly no chains and pill feeding in the heaven, or at least in the heaven he thought the heaven was although he had always thought he didn't believe in heaven and hell, and so on. He got into all this philosophical crap with theories, peripatetics, arguments, synderesis and other otiose hard-to-spell words. Who am I, why am I, am I? Et cetera.

To cut this short, Erol's mind was being overactive.

Not only had it just been formed out of a brand new mixture of a soul and a body, but it hadn't yet realised that thinking would be a good idea. Hitherto the redhead had spent time thinking of "why am I here?", "what time is it?", "does the purple pill taste as bad as the turquoise flake?" and "how to tell Torn I know nothing so that he believes and doesn't punch me?" among other things, but now he started thinking _why he was_.

And to his horror, he didn't find an answer. He should be six feet under. He knew nothing, although the another redhead in the house didn't quite believe it. Keira had asked Erol who put the remo into his head, although she still found the story fishy. He didn't know. Torn had asked Erol why he was here. Well, he didn't know. Tess hadn't asked anything, only sat there outside the bars reading a magazine and giving him a suspicious look if he made a sound or moved. He didn't know how long he had been in the jail, didn't know how long he had slept, didn't know anything about time – and that frustrated him! Damn it, his life had been scheduled since he was eleven, he was learnt to exploit the at first scarcely given spare time as well as possible. And _fast_ had always been a part of his life. _Fast_ and _the first_. Now how could he be fast when he couldn't count the time reliably?

Although he didn't realise it, he was becoming his normal self, again; cool, confident and conceited. He was becoming angry again, frustrated again. Although he was in chains, eating colourful pellets and heading slowly for a humiliating act of urination, he was beginning to feel the number two man of the city again.

When that curst fakeblonde entered the room, Erol was beginning to feel sure he wouldn't apologise anything. He was Erol, he didn't need to feel sorry.

* * *

_maestro: "A dull end."_

_Lucius: "Agreed upon."_

_Da: "How cute! Now they're gonna kiss and make up!"_

_Sipuli: "WHAT?"_

_Da: "Well to me it seems like –"_

_Sipuli: "Hell no, this ain't OC or The Bold and the Beautiful."_

_Da: "Excuse me, OC is a God –"_

_Sipuli: "Pagan, fertilizers are a God –"_

_Lucius: "No no no, almond cookies are a God –"_

_maestro: "Ommm…" _

_Lucius: "Psst, hey helping hands, is Kleiver still alive?"_


	14. Outgoing & Goodlooking

_Jak, Keira, Torn, Erol, Daxter, Haven and Tess are (c) Naughty Dog, and if I forgot something, well, oops._

_**LunarSquirrel**, yay, the return of sciurus lunaris, nice to see you again! Kleiver – diaper? –confused- I haven't got Jak X, by the way… And I never will! I boycott it, as well as Jak 3… -self-torment or strength of mind?-_

_**Meowen**, yay I'm an optimistic person! I'm A-class! xD I guess the cyberforce had little problems with me as this chapter took so long… -innocent whistling, no, I'm not lazy- Omigod, my reply for your review is the shortest one! How did this happen?_

_**Darth Tank**, oh it was just overoptimistic Da! about Erol and Jak. Don't care about it! –smile- So, Kleiver wears a diaper, is practically our buddies' enemy and has an evil my-life-mission-is-to-destroy-Jak –rodent on his shoulder? O...K Ehe… Ehe… Eh. –shocked- Oh, "curst" means "deserving a curse", a bit of "damn" like word. _

_**jaklover123**, well, I returned Erol to his normal swaggerish character. I didn't want to make him over as a whole new luster purge boy… Keira's interested, because she… -evil grin of storyteller- It will be explained later! Mwahhahhahhaa! The vision thing, well, Keira gets visions. –innocent __smile-_

* * *

_maestro: "We keep them waiting for almost a month? In my opinion the time – quality relation is in critical numbers right now."_

_Sipuli: "Well, it might be just me, but in my opinion it was for the best to cancel the original Chapter 14 and write a new one."_

_Lucius: "Wasn't that the one where they fought about cheese?"_

_Sipuli: "Yes. That says it all, doesn't it?"_

* * *

14.** Outgoing & Good-looking**

In the end of the month, the atmosphere in Casa de Ottsel was still pretty tense. They all were polite and chatty to each other, even Keira to Jak, but it all tasted like trying hard. Keira still had her nauseas and headaches, which had led everyone except Tess to believe, that she was expecting. Not for Erol, of course, but it could be anyone, couldn't it? In the end, Keira was outgoing, good-looking and sporting an amazing body figure. And it was Lisha, one of the fertility months, and usually the first symptoms of the pregnancy occurred in the next female month since the fertilization. The expected to be expecting girl couldn't think of a suitable lie and there was no way she was going to tell the matter of things, so she coolly let the others think she was pregnant. Which only increased Daxter's, Torn's, Jak's and even Erol's amount of belief; as you know, enceinte women never breathe a word about their current state for men until they've passed some mysterious date or told every girlfriend or bought a new wardrobe or something else as mystical. Jak had even gone so far that he had done a list of men Keira could have met in Nockir, the month he had arrived. To his displeasure, he had found out that he had known nothing about her businesses then, so, it left every capable male in the town available. Expect for him of course. And probably Torn, but he could not be sure – maybe they had this thing going on, but they didn't want to show it as he had arrived, but he was still pretty sure that he could trust his friend, and if something had been going on he had surely noticed, right? And Erol was eliminated, too, as he didn't exist way back then. Or…

Of course!

Jak didn't realise how he hadn't thought of it earlier.

Erol had been alive, for some miracle (Jak decided to search an excuse for the living subject later), and then Keira and he… Well, they had gotten procreative. Keira had her own apartment, which by now was empty, or how did he know, he'd never been there, but anyway the point was that Keira had kept Erol in her house! Of course! But then, she had been offered a chance to live in Casa de Ottsel, and she couldn't turn that down, so she moved in and later helped Erol in, too! All this 'I'm-heaven-sent-into-your-bedroom' –stuff was just bluffing; Jak knew how good Keira was at inventing stories as she had always told him and Daxter fairytales at evenings way back in Sandover. It had been also her idea to give Erol clothes (from the upcoming Tester collection, they included buttons and zippers and buckles and laces everywhere so they could be put on even for someone who had his legs and arms chained). AND, Keira spent the most time with Erol. Or had spent, as now the racing season was about to begin and she was busy with her garage, and her interviews and photoshoots. Garage Sandover was expected to really challenge, hardly/maybe/probably overcome the Supersonic Garage, last year's champion, and also, Garage Sandover was the only female led garage in the town. And as stated before, Keira was outgoing, good-looking and sporting an amazing body figure AND she was single (although Jak was now sure she wasn't). To cut it short, Keira was the most mediasexy person in Haven right now.

"Guys, I'm home!" the mediasexiest person in Haven shouted cheerfully, and rushed to throw up.

"How was your interview and what did you bring this time?" Torn asked. He was laying on the living room couch, reading, Daxter curled on his chest. When Jak had seen that for the first time, it had almost knocked him off his feet. Like, Torn would never disgrace himself by letting a filthy rodent sleep on him, and Daxter would never disgrace himself by sleeping on someone as bony and boring. Oh well, nothing stays the same…

"It was alright. Lots of delicacies!" Keira chirped, "is Tess at the Ottsel?"

"No, she's at Erol."

"Oh, of course! Dumb me. Is she planning to go to Ottsel?"

"No", Daxter murmured sleepily, "we're planning to have a romantic night of our own, and leave the decorating for Phoyre. Yawn…"

Phoyre! Jak, who heard this all into his room, quickly calculated the possibilities and placed him as the first runner-up for Erol. Phoyre was the second-in-command-to-the-rodents in Ottsel, taking care of things when Tess and Daxter were busy. He was outgoing and as far as Jak remembered not as bad-looking as he had every right to be… Hmm, and he had a reason to be alive. Hmm… Phoyre or Erol? Phoyre or Erol?

"What about the master, or what about the dame? Or what about the little boy who lives down the lane?" Dark trolled in his head, "has someone taken a ticket headlong to paranoia?"

"It's understandable", Light had this nurse-tone in his voice, "he's gone though a lot in his life. These shocks lately may have shaken the fine tightrope he was walking on and –"

"Thank you", Jak snorted and looked at the mindmap he had done. It really was ridiculous. It was possible that Keira wasn't pregnant at all, and even if she was, it could have been anyone.

He crumpled the sheet up, and threw it into the trash can.

"Look out!" Dark warned him, "someone might read it now. You should – of course, ev'ry paranoid knows this – either burn it, or then soak it in water before tattering it and then you should make a ball out of those wet pieces. No-one can read that!"

"Dark, I appreciate that", he muttered sarcastically while walking down the stairs.

"Talking to your head again?" Torn asked.

"What? Oh yes", Jak smirked, "where did everyone go?"

"Dax went to jails", Torn yawned too and placed the book under the sofa, "and Keira should be in the kitchen."

"I am in the kitchen!" Keira snapped and rouse up from behind the kitchen island, "just looking for coriander. Where is it?" she soon continued after seeing Jak's face, "oh, me asking that from you? This is sad."

"Why don't you ask Tess?" Torn suggested.

"I don't need Tess to ev'ry it and that!" she snapped, hopped over the few stairs between the kitchen and the living room, and rushed to the bathroom.

"Puking up. Making food", Jak rolled his eyes, "the level of hygiene in this house: below zero."

"Make the food if mine is not enough", Keira yelled and washed her hands extravagantly loudly.

"It was a joke!"

"I'm not up for laughs if I'm down for pukes! Now, if you don't mind, boys", she went to the kitchen and took out a tower of plates, "help me with the table and then get away – yes, I need my own peace when I'm cooking!" she added for Jak's disbelieving eyebrows.

* * *

"She's pregnant, isn't she?" Jak asked from Torn as they lay in the garden, shaded by the torching midday sun. 

"Well, it seems so, really. Her moodswings, her these indisposition things, that cooking for us – he sounded just like my mum! 'Help me with the table, boys'."

"Do you have a brother?"

"Had", Torn sighed, "he was a KG, was killed in an accident."

"Oh. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks", Torn smirked, "so, tell me, is it true that you can turn invisible?"

"What?"

"Does either of your… head creatures have an ability to… you know, vanish?"

"Where did you come up with that?" Jak laughed a little, "yes, Dark can turn invisible."

"Traitor! Where is the paranoid now?" Dark rampaged, "it's a secret, or something, never let your enemy know your strengths, never. You have no strategy sense at all…" he kept on though Jak wasn't paying attention.

"Oh, really?" Torn sounded interested, for once, "wow."

"It's not like becoming a ghost or something, Dark can't go through walls, as example."

"I can't? Can't I?" Dark kept on yelling, "show me a wall and I'll make my way through it! The owner of the wall wouldn't like it, though, but as I said…"

"Can you keep on with it, like forever?"

"Oh no, just for a moment. I think a minute or something is the record."

"A minute? A minute? I can do a lot better than that! You should know…"

"That's fascinating. What else can you do?" Torn asked as he chewed a leaf from a lathmys palm, "or, they?"

"Oh, Dark has these bombs and attacks and lightning. Ev'rything evil."

"Evil? Ev'rything evil? Well I'ma show you – wait a second! Thank you!"

"And Light can fly and freeze time –"

"It's not freezing time. It's speeding my molecules up."

"- or not, he says it's just speeding him up, so he moves very swiftly, and then he can heal, and… something."

"And Dark had this giant thing or something, I've seen that, remember?"

"Oh yes, you've seen the giant Dark", Jak laughed. Can you do it still? he asked from his fellow.

"Of course", Dark sounded insulted, "just because I don't use my full potential for a moment, it doesn't mean I'm not capable to it anymore."

"It's just… fascinating", Torn repeated and chuckled, "I dunno. You realise that you're unique?"

"Exactly", Jak snorted, "why me?"

"Thank you very much", Light snapped.

"How are they like in person?" Torn smirked, "I mean, you talk to them sometimes, usually in a frustrated tone and so on, so I suppose they have some characteristics."

"Well, Dark's an uneducated pervert –"

"An uneducated pervert? An uneducated pervert? I'ma show you – hey, thanks again, buddy!"

* * *

The real reason for the atmosphere being so tense was in the basement. Erol. All the other faeries in the house had realised, that he knew something about each of them, what they didn't want to share with the others. Keira felt the most insecure, thus she spent lots of time with Erol, as so he couldn't leak any information about their intimate relationship to Torn or especially Jak. She would rather tell about her visions, drink yakow pee and spend three years without her favourite fragrance than tell about that love affair. She was also pretty sure, that Torn and Jak would decide to kill her, or drink her yakow pee or do something sinister like that, if she told them. 

Jak had ignored Light's advice to talk to someone about his traumas, but didn't especially feel a need to guard Erol. Torn's secret was probably the smallest one, but he was a bit afraid of the reactions of the others, and also he didn't feel any particular need to talk about his Krimzon Guard past.

* * *

"That was truly delicious!" Torn leaned backwards in his chair. The meal Keira had cooked had been seayakow on a vegetable bed and wumpa soufflé as the dessert. Daxter and Tess had been served to their magnificent bedroom, as their romantic night of course included a romantic two-to-two supper. The meal of Erol's had included a yellow pill and a sleeping pill. 

"Thank you, I surprised myself, too, you know", Keira was tattering her serviette into small pieces, "so, Jak, did the level of this meal's hygiene disappoint you?"

"Not at all. Thanks! It was delicious, like Torn said."

"Thanks."

"Why are you doing that?" Torn asked and nodded at the serviette, "got some hidden aggressions?"

"What? Oh this? No, nothing. I dunno, this is just fun! You oughtta try this sometimes, you know –" suddenly she gasped and slammed her hand at her forehead.

"Keira?" the guys asked.

"I'm fine."

"Surely?" Jak continued cautiously.

"Yeah, yeah", Keira rouse her head again, "Jak."

"What?"

"Today's your birthday!"

"What?"

"Today – is – your – birthday."

"Oh well then. Wow."

"Happy birthday, buddy!" Torn padded Jak on his shoulder, "how old are you?"

"Twenty-two, I guess."

"Jak, don't you remember your birthday?" Keira asked, "not that you seem to remember anyone's birthdays…"

"Well, my birthday just has never been a big thing for me –"

"Don't lie. As a kid you anticipated it as much as all the other kids in Sandover –"

"I'm not a kid anymore, a year here and year there –"

"Your I'm-not-a-kid –attitude really shows that you are a kid", Torn smirked, "from my point of view –"

"I'm an adult man, not a bloody teenager!"

"Jak and Torn!" Keira threw her incapacitated serviette at Torn, "don't you realise something? Torn?"

"What?"

"Jak's twenty-two today. The thirteenth of Lo, you are thirty-three."

"Thirty-three?" Jak hollered, "you're not thirty-three years old, are you?"

"I am", Torn replied with a slightly unpleased tone, "I'm not that _old_, you know."

"Your I'm-not-old –attitude really shows that you are a fossil!" the fakeblonde faery joked.

"Thanks, kid!" Torn passed Keira's serviette onwards, "let's wait 'til you're thirty-three, if you get that far! Most of this city is over thirty-three and these fossils can get really harsh. It's a bit of a weak spot, you know."

"Guys", Keira sighed, "do you see it? A pair of twos. A pair of threes."

"Yes, we both are in our doubles", Torn snorted. In Haven, people didn't especially value ages such as 10, 20, 30, 40 and so on. They were a lot keener on ages like 11, 22, 33 et cetera.

"This makes an enormous jubilee, doesn't it?" Keira chirped, "double doubles party!"

"I don't think we need a party", Jak sighed and changed glances with Torn.

"We do!" Keira sipped the last drop of water from her glass, "this house is so full of all kind of crazy energies, we need a break of it. Tell me, when have you two been out for the last time?"

"Before you called us back in to eat", Jak finished with his glass, too.

"No, I mean, outside Haven, as example!"

"Are you planning to take us outta Haven for a party?" Torn asked with disbelief.

"Yes!" Keira said in a self-satisfied tone, "I'll take you to the Precursor Ruins. That's a great place for a jubilee. Torn, take your communicator and ask Jinx when is it fine for Onin. I'm sure he will be very happy to see us!"

"Jinx?" Jak remembered his first encounter with this chain smoker, "happy to see us?"

"For sure!"

"Can't we just say 'no, we don't want to have this whatso-jubilee-ever', eh?" Torn asked from Jak.

"Oh if you do you'll just be ignored. No matter how well you use tmesis or not", Keira smiled, "wait 'til Tess will hear about this!"

"Okay, we lost this game!" Torn threw his hands in the air.

"Torn, be strong!"

"Jak, think about it: these two talk and talk and talk about it, and plan and plan and plan it. We can't win!"

"Exactly!" Keira kept on smiling, "now, if you cleaned the table, because I'd need to wash my hands, thank you…"

"By the way", Torn asked from Jak when they were collecting the dishes, "if you're birthday is the twenty-last of Lisha, why is the birthday of Mar the first of Mar?"

"Torn", Jak snapped with a smirk, "I do not have a thought about it. You're more Haven than me, tell me. Or actually don't. I don't want anything to remind me of my birthday anymore, my quota of the year will be met when this hand-washing funny farm drags us to the Ruins."

* * *

_Sipuli: "Now let's get down to Chapter 15! We'll finally see Jinx."_

_maestro: "I hope we will finish that before Christmas…"_

_Da: "Xmas comes! Hooray! Hooray! I wish it could be xmas ev'ryday!"_

_Sipuli: "Some good news: Chapter 16 is already written…"_


End file.
